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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, but in 1784 a church was completed at a
cost of ^267, with sittings for 500. On 20th July of that year a formal
accession from Fenwick was given in along with a petition for an election
of elders, and on loth March 1785 a moderation was granted, the stipend
promised being ^60, with a house, or ^5 instead, and a horse to be provided
when required. But two disappointments were met with before they reached
a fixed ministry. The first call was addressed to Mr Robert Hall, but the
Synod appointed him to Renton, which he refused to accept. The second
came out for Mr Robert Shirra, but as the result of some conversation with
him the people agreed to drop it, "as they were determined never to have
a minister against his own will." They were averse, it seems, to intrusion
on either side.
First Minister. — J.\MES Dewar, from Dunfermline (Queen Anne Street),
a congregation in which the family name was long and favourably known.
After most of Mr Dewar's trials had been given there was danger of losing
him through a call to Old Kilpatrick, but the Presbytery sustained the
claims of Fenwick, and he was ordained there, 18th April 1787. Ten years
afterwards he was called to the newly-formed congregation of Stranraer
(West), which he had been active in getting organised, but the translation
was unanimously refused. Mr Dewar, who has been described as a
vigorous and original preacher, laboured on in Fenwick till 4th August
1829 when he resigned owing to growing infirmities, and retired on an
annuity of ^50, with the manse. He died, 28th September 1833, in the
eighty-third year of his age. Mr Dewar's son Hugh joined the Established
Church while a student, and became parish minister of Stonehouse in 1822.
He died, 21st May 1861, in the sixty-seventh year of his age.
In 1827 the congregation made an unsuccessful attempt to provide
Mr Dewar with a colleague. At the moderation three condidates were
proposed — Messrs David Marshall, William M'Kelvie, and Michael Thomson
— but Mr Marshall was carried by an absolute majority. Though the call
was signed by 254 members, feeling ran high between the supporters of
Messrs Marshall and M'Kelvie, and it may have been partly on this account
that the forming congregation of Lochee was preferred by the Synod.
Second Minister.— WlLh] AM Orr, from Saltcoats (Countess Street).
The vote at the moderation lay between Mr Orr and Mr William Nisbet,
afterwards of Edinburgh (Cowgate), and when a show of hands was taken
the former had a majority of only i, which the reading of the roll increased
to 7. But on this occasion the minority yielded, and the call was subscribed
by 300 communicants. The presiding minister had allowed Mr Nisbet to
preach the sermon on the moderation day, but though the Presbytery
strongly disapproved, the proceedings were sustained, and Mr Orr was
ordained, 2nd February 1830. His stipend as junior pastor was ^100 in all,
3i6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and there was a communion roll of 455. Next year the second church, with
sittings for 789, was built at a cost of ^728, exclusive of old materials and
cartage, and in 1833 the old thatch-roofed manse was replaced by another,
which raised the total outlay to ^1200. On nth March 1879 Mr Orr's
jubilee was celebrated, when he was presented with a cheque for ^900 from
his congregation and other friends. Under the encroachments of age he
had been for some time laid aside from ministerial work, and Mr Adam
Baillie had been called to be his colleague, but he declined, and soon after-
wards was ordained at Errol.
Third Minister. — John Kirkwood Fairlie, from Wellington Street,
Glasgow, a nephew of the Rev. John Kirkwood of Troon. Ordained, 25th
June 1879. The senior minister was to have ^100 annually, with the manse,
and Mr Fairlie ^160, which the congregation expected to be made up to
^200 from other sources. Mr Orr died, 15th May 1882, in the eighty-
third year of his age and fifty-third of his ministry. His son, the Rev.
Robert Workman Orr, is minister of Bank Street, Brechin. The population
of Fenwick parish has now declined to one-half of what it was seventy years
ago, and the membership of the congregation is also much below what it
used to be. At the close of 1899 it was 173, and the stipend from the
people ^170, with the manse. The whole property had recently undergone
considerable repairs.
GALSTON (Burgher)
On 4th September 1777 the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow appointed Mr
Jaffray of Kilmarnock to preach at Galston on the second Sabbath of that
month. He drew a considerable branch of his congregation from that
place, which is five miles to the south-east, one of the galleries in his church
being known as " the Galston loft." From this time sermon was regularly
kept up as the supply of probationers would allow, though the people were
still reckoned a part of Kilmarnock congregation. In June 1781 some
people in and about Galston not previously in connection with the Seceders
gave in a formal adhesion to the Presbytery, but it was not till December 1790
that a session was formed by the ordination of four elders. Up till then,
and for years afterwards, the families in Galston must have been largely
dependent on the mother church at Kilmarnock for gospel ordinances, but
in 1798 a step in advance was gained by the erection of a church, with 574
sittings. In March of that year they reported that the average attendance
was 300, that their prospects were more encouraging since the building was
covered in, and that to meet expenses they had received subscriptions
amounting to ;^ioo, a large sum in those days. In answer to a petition for
aid the Synod in September allowed them ^18, "to enable them to seat
their meeting-house." Next July they were ripe for a moderation, the
stipend promised being ^70, with a free house and garden. The call was
addressed to Mr William Nicol, and signed by 128 members with 208
adherents, but the Synod appointed him to Barrhead
First Minister. — James Blackwood, from Old Kilpatrick (Craigs).
Galston being preferred by the Synod to Braehead, Mr Blackwood was
ordained there, 26th August 1800. The congregation all along drew a large
part of its strength from the farmers around, and in 1836 the minister
reported the communicants at 330, nearly one-third of these being from the
parishes of Riccarton and Loudoun, with a few from the bounds of Craigie
and Kilmarnock. The stipend at this time was ^104, with manse and
garden, and the average income was about ^200, of which a considerable
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 317
part had been applied for several years to the extinction of debt resting
specially on the manse. In 1841 Mr Walter Muckersie was called to be
Mr Blackwood's colleague, but he declined, stating that he preferred P'erry-
Port-on-Craig ; and in 1842 they called Mr Thomas Pearson, but the call
being somewhat divided he waited on, and was ordained next year at
Eyemouth.
Second Minister. — Thomas Matthewson, from Kelso (First). The call
was signed by 245 members and 59 adherents, and the stipend was to be
^80 for the time, the senior minister to receive ^52 a year, with the manse.
Ordained, 14th March 1843. On 4th December 1849 Mr Blackwood's
jubilee was celebrated. Though eight months of his fiftieth year were still'to
run, the fear would be that, if the celebration were put off thus long, it would
be too late. As it was, Mr Blackwood had to remain in his own room while
the evening meeting went on, and his grateful reply to the addresses sent
him had to be read by another. He died on the 26th of next month, in
the eighty-fourth year of his age, leaving a son-in-law in the ministry, the
Rev. A. W. Smith of Pitlessie. A sketch of his life work and his merits
appeared in the U.P. Magazine soon after by Dr Bruce of Newmilns.
Under Mr Matthewson Galston congregation continued to prosper, and in
1879 it had a membership of 368, the stipend being ^203, with the manse.
But in 1885 illness came, and amidst marks of declining strength he was
admitted to the Aged and Infirm List, with an allowance of ^80 from the
people, and the manse.
Third Minister. — David James, B.D., from Erskine Church, Glasgow,
a nephew of the Rev. G. F. James, Bristo Church, Edinburgh. Ordained as
colleague and successor to Mr Matthewson, 23rd December 1885. Was
left sole pastor by Mr Matthewson's death, 7th June 1886, in the seventy-
sixth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry. Loosed, 4th September
1893, on accepting a call to Bethelfield, Kirkcaldy.
Fourth Minister. — David J. Allison, son of the Rev. James Allison,
Alexandria. Ordained, i8th December 1894. Within the last twenty years
the membership, like the population, has slightly declined, but in the be-
ginning of 1900 it still numbered 326, and the stipend was as before.
WEST KILBRIDE (United Secession)
On 6th November 182 1 the United Presbytery of Kilmarnock received a
petition for sermon from West Kilbride. That parish had been long under
the ministry of the Rev. Arthur Oughterson, who was aging now, and died
within a year. He belonged to a group of Ayrshire ministers, including
Ferguson of Kilwinning and M'Gill of Ayr, who wished subscription to the
Confession of Faith dispensed with, and were suspected of leaning to
Socinianism. Hence, when a Relief congregation was started in Saltcoats,
five miles distant, it was made up of people from West Kilbride and
Ardrossan, and towards the end of the century, according to the Old
Statistical History, 50 of the parishioners attended Secession and Relief
churches. The present application was cordially supported by the two
Secession ministers of Saltcoats, and the request for supply once a fortnight
was unanimously agreed to, the prospects of the cause being pronounced far
from discouraging. On 3rd August 1824 twenty-seven members of the
Secession, and 70 adherents, petitioned to be disjoined from Saltcoats,
and, the two sessions acquiescing, they were formed into a separate con-
gregation. This was followed without delay by the ordination of four elders,
3i8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and to aid the people at this stage the Synod allowed them a donation of ;^20.
In the end of 1826 a moderation was obtained, the stipend promised being
^80, and a house. The call, signed by 37 members and 42 adherents, was
addressed to Mr Peter Cairns, but another call was brought up to the Pres-
bytery the same day from Stewarton, and unanimously preferred.
First Minister. — Peter Mather, from Dunbar (West). The Synod
having preferred West Kilbride to South Ronaldshay, in Orkney, Mr Mather
was ordained, i6th July 1828. The stipend was now to be ^90, with 3
guineas each communion. On 2nd February 1836 Mr Mather intimated to
the Presbytery that, having embraced views of divine truth subversive of
Presbyterian order, he required to resign his charge, and a committee, after
conversing with him, reported that there was no hope of his sentiments
allowing him to continue in connection with the Secession Church. The
demission was at once accepted, and regret expressed at parting with a
brother " who had enjoyed a high degree of their confidence and esteem, and
had commended himself in an eminent degree to the affection of the people
of his charge." The parting discourse was preached at West Kilbride
amidst deep feeling from the text : " Finally brethren, farewell. Be perfect,"
etc., and on 26th October Mr Mather was inducted into Brown Street Con-
gregational Church, Glasgow. In 1839 he accepted an invitation to
Ardrossan, with the hope, perhaps, on both sides that members would be
drawn in from among his former friends at West Kilbride. In his new
sphere of labour Mr Mather took the Evangelical Union side, and Ardrossan
Church was one of five which, for doctrinal reasons, were declared out of
fellowship with the four Congregational churches in Glasgow. After this he
edited the Christian News., an organ of that denomination, and proved him-
self an active man in their ministerial councils. Having withdrawn from
Ardrossan in 1845 he afterwards took charge of a small congregation in the
north of England. He died at Glasgow, nth January 1864, in the seventy-
second year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry.
Second Minister. — Andrew Sprott, M.A., from Stranraer (Bellevilla).
Prior to this the congregation had called Mr Alexander Sorley, who accepted
Arbroath. Mr Sprott was ordained, 15th November 1837. This call was
signed by 72 members and 36 adherents, but the stipend was reduced to ^80,
with expenses. On 26th April 1842 Mr Sprott, who had brought up at a
former meeting certain discouragements in his situation at West Kilbride,
was loosed from his charge at his own request, inquiry having revealed
serious alienation between him and his people. He now returned to the
probationer list, and three years afterwards was admitted to Archieston,
where he had a happier course. During his ministry at West Kilbride the
debt of ^160 on the property was felt to be oppressive, and in 1840 an eflfort
was made to have it reduced with the aid of the Debt Liquidating Board.
The membership at this time was no, but it was not till 1845 that the
burden was lessened by ;^ioo, of which one half was raised by the people,
and the other half came from the Board.
During this vacancy the congregation came very near the expiring point.
At one time they intimated that they could not take sermon oftener than
once in three weeks, though they would be happy to receive it oftener if the
Presbytery could furnish it with less expense, and any preacher within the
bounds who had no other appointment was recommended to give them a
day gratis. At another time they wished liberty to dispose of their property
for the security of those who were under obligations for the debt. This was
in 1843, when the Free congregation was being formed in the place. Three
years after this they wished to proceed towards a settlement, but ^40 was all
they could promise for stipend, and it was hoped the Board would make up
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 319
what was needed. Thus the matter hung in abeyance for two years, and
then the way was opened up to better things.
Third Minister. — John Boyd {see Paisley, George Street). Inducted,
20th June 1849, having been ordained at Hexham sixteen years before. In
the Missionary Record for November of that year it is stated that before his
location it was seriously contemplated to give up the cause altogether, but
since then the audience had grown from 70 to 150. After they had gone on
for about a year amidst decided tokens of reviving, the bond between them
and. Mr Boyd was fully formed, and their prospects improved every way.
In 1866 Mr Boyd had the degree of D.D. from Monmouth College, Illinois,
and on 13th March of that year his resignation was accepted, and he retired
into private life, making his abode at West Kilbride. There were now 80
names on the communion roll, and the people were prepared to promise his
successor a stipend of ^70, which was to be supplemented up to ^120.
Dr Boyd died, 15th January 1881, in the seventy-third year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — James Clark Balderston, from Paisley (Thread
Street), but translated from Boveedy, in Ireland, where he had been or-
dained, 1 2th January 1865. Admitted to West Kilbride, 4th May 1868. A
new church was opened on 5th August 1883 by Professor Graham of
London, with sittings for 400, and built at a cost of ^2500. The member-
ship at the close of 1899 was 158, and the stipend from the people ^150.
Since 1872 there has also been a manse, which cost over ;^9C)0, of which ^300
came from the Manse Board.
ARDROSSAN (United Presbyterian)
This congregation was formed by disjunctions from Saltcoats, and consisted
at first of 89 members, of whom about three-fourths were from Mr Ronald's
church, and the other fourth from Mr GifTen's. It was on loth February
1857 that sermon was applied for, and on the second Sabbath of March
services were commenced in the new church, the three neighbouring
ministers, Messrs Ronald and Giffen of Saltcoats and Boyd of West Kilbride,
being the officiating ministers. On 14th April the congregation was formally
organised, and on the third Sabbath of May two elders were inducted and
one ordained. On 7th June the people were in ripeness for a moderation,
the stipend promised being .^150, with expenses. The church has 350
sittings, and cost ^1300.
First Minister. — SlJMON SOMMERVILLE Stobbs, son of the Rev. William
Stobbs, Stromness, and grandson of the Rev. Simon Sommerville, Elgin
(Moss Street). Ordained, 22nd December 1857. The call was signed by
109 members and 52 adherents, and all was unanimity and heartiness, but
the bright prospect was speedily to be clouded. The people may have been
over-sanguine, and, when success came short of expectation, there may have
been an undue tendency to restiveness and discontent. It happened, at
least, that before a year and a half had passed Ardrossan affairs were
brought before the Presbytery. After a committee had failed to heal dis-
sensions that Court itself took up the case. Certain parties had called a
congregational meeting, at which they went on to show that they were not to
blame for the differences with their minister. The Presbytery found that these
proceedings were fitted to injure Mr Stobbs in his absence. Several papers
which had been handed in were also read, one from 50 members declaring
that they would no longer act along with Mr Stobbs, and another from 54
members expressing satisfaction with his ministrations, bating the use of the
manuscript in the pulpit. It ended for the time with an exhortation to all
320 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
parties to humble themselves before God, review their conduct in the light
of Christian duty, and endeavour to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond
of peace.
This was on 21st June 1859, but at a meeting three weeks afterwards Mr
Stobbs brought up a communication he had received from three of the elders
declining to co-operate with him, and also a request sent him to call a con-
gregational meeting for the purpose of relieving the trustees from their
responsibilities and minuting the resignation of managers. This led to a
meeting of Presbytery at Ardrossan on 6th September, when a second
committee reported that with two exceptions all the office-bearers of the
church were alienated from Mr Stobbs' ministry, but the party adhering to
him were willing to support ordinances for themselves by contributing at the
rate of ^4, 5s. a year for each member. They would also undertake the
liabilities resting on the property, which amounted to nearly ^800, if the
other party would relinquish their rights and withdraw, a proposal which
the trustees and those in the majority refused to entertain. At a loss what
to do, the Presbytery decided to refer the whole case siinpliciter to the
Synod. Another motion was that the dissatisfaction which prevailed with
the ministrations of Mr Stobbs was not justified by anything brought out in
evidence, and that measures be taken to provide the congregation with an
acting session. While the reference was pending the regular income shrunk
up, and before the end of the year it was intimated to the Presbytery that
money claims to the extent of ^80 were about to become due, while the
treasurer had only £b in hand. The evil was too acute to admit of delay,
and on 14th February i860 a letter was read from Mr Stobbs resigning his
charge. He had been anxious, he said, to labour on in spite of violent op-
position, but the state of his health would not permit, and on 13th March the
resignation was accepted, with the concurrence of commissioners from both
sides, and arrangements were made for meeting his pecuniary claims. Mr
Stobbs was now to have his name placed on the probationer list, but after
acting in this capacity for two years he withdrew, and the General Assembly
in 1863 authorised the Presbytery of Glasgow to receive him into the
ministry of the Established Church. In 1864 he was inducted into the
charge of Swallow Street, London, a congregation of long standing, where
he remained till 1868. He was afterwards in the quoad sacra church at
Lugar, in the parish of Auchinleck, from 1872 to 1876. He next appears as
minister of Elder Street Mission Church, Edinburgh, which became St
James' ^?/^art^ j'a^rr^, where he laboured till 1898. Since then his name has
appeared on the list of Ministers Unattached.
Second Minister. — William Rigby Murray, from Broughton Place,
Edinburgh. Ordained, 26th March 1861. The present call was signed by
only 66 members and 18 adherents, a proof both of reduced numbers and
abated spirits, but all gradually came right. Within three years the debt of
^800 was extinguished, and in 1866 a manse was built at a cost of .2^978, of
which the people raised two-thirds, and about one-third came from the Board.
In 1868 Mr Murray was called to be colleague to the Rev. David M'Rae,
Glasgow, but the majority was small, and he declined. On nth June 1872
he accepted Brunswick Street, Manchester. In November the congregation
called Mr James Drummond, afterwards of Alexandria. The membership
was 160.
Third Minister. — WILLIAM M'GlLCHRlST, B.D., son of the Rev. John
M'Gilchrist, Rose Street, Edinburgh. Ordained, 29th July 1873. The
stipend was to be ;i^i6o, with the manse, and ^10 for expenses. Seven years
after this the congregation was giving ^200, but after that there was a period
of serious decHne, till the membership fell to not more than no. At the
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 321
Synod in 1891 Mr M'Gilchrist was one of the four candidates proposed for
the Church History Chair, when Dr Orr was appointed. Since then there
has been a regaining of lost ground, till in the year of the Union there was a
communion roll of 150, and a stipend from the people of ^170.
GLENGARNOCK (United Presbyterian)
A PREACHING station was opened at Glengarnock on the fourth Sabbath of
August 1869 by the Rev. George Philp of Saltcoats, who reported to Kil-
marnock Presbytery an attendance of 95 in the forenoon and 113 in the
evening. This important step was taken in compliance with a petition for
sermon signed by 55 persons residing in that village or its neighbourhood,
and presented on 13th July. Services had already been conducted in a school-
room for some months by a third-year student, and the collections were
found to average ^^2, 5s. The nearest churches of the denomination were
at Beith, two and a half miles distant ; at Dairy, three and a quarter ; and
at Lochwinnoch, four miles ; while within a radius of half-a-mile there was
a population of 2000. In Kilbirnie, however, within a mile and a half, there
were a Reformed Presbyterian and a Free church, besides the parish church,
which lies about midway between the two places. On 14th September the
petitioners were congregated, and when the communion roll was made up
the names amounted to 67, of whom only 16 came from U.P. churches, the
greater number of these being from Head Street, Beith. On 28th December
four of their number were set apart to the eldership, two of whom had pre-
viously been members of the Reformed Presbyterian session in Kilbirnie.
In February 1870 Mr Philp, who had been active in the congregation during
the formative period, was invited to become their minister, but he declined.
The call was signed by 62 members and 29 ordinary hearers, and the stipend
promised was ;i^i5o, with expenses. The building of a manse was now pro-
ceeded with, which was finished at a little over ^500, of which ;{^2oo came
from the Manse Board. A second unsuccessful call was addressed to Mr
T. R. Anderson, who preferred Hamilton (now Saffronhall).
First Minister. — William G. Miller, from Blairgowrie. Ordained,
29th August 1 87 1. The new church, seated for 280, and built at a cost of
;^ 1 500, was opened on the afternoon of Saturday, 6th September 1873, by
Dr Walter C. Smith, then of Glasgow. To meet the outlay a grant of ^200
was obtained from the Ferguson trustees, ^150 from the Extension Fund,
and ;^6oo from the Permanent Loan Fund, and there were the proceeds
of a bazaar held at Ardrossan. In 1879 the debt stood at .^200, and four
years afterwards it was entirely paid off, the Liquidation Board giving
^100. On nth April 1884 Mr Miller accepted a call to Blairhill, Coat-
bridge.
Second Minister. — ROBERT B. Andrew, B.D., from Campbeltown.
Ordained, 7th October 1884. At^ the close of 1899 the membership was
132, and the stipend from the people ;^I20, which ^40 from the Ferguson
Bequest, and Surplus, raised to ^186, besides the manse.
DARVEL (United Presbyterian)
At a meeting of Kilmarnock Presbytery on 8th January 1884 a petition for
sermon came up from 138 members of Newmilns congregation residing in
Darvel, and the station was opened in the Institute Hall on the third
Sabbath of that month by Mr Burton, their minister, who reported at next
II. X
322 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
meeting an attendance of 268 in the forenoon and 450 in the evening and
a collection of ^13. The session and congregation of Newmilns cordially
concurring, the new cause was constituted on the 29th with a communion
roll of 143. Among them were five elders, and four others having been
ordained a session of nine members was formed on 4th March. Within
other two months the people had subscribed about ;^400 for the building
of a church, which was to accommodate 450, the estimated cost being
_j{^i4oo. A moderation was now applied for, and a stipend promised of
^140, which they expected would be supplemented by ^20 from the Fer-
guson Bequest Fund. All this made a hopeful beginning. The town,
which lies a mile to the east of Newmilns, had a population at that time of
nearly 2000. Other denominations had early appeared upon the ground.
In 1795 the Relief sent supply to Darvel on petition from a number of people
in the parish of Loudoun, but after a few years it was withdrawn for want
of encouragement. In 18 10 the Reformed Presbyterians ordained a minister
there over what is now the Free Church congregation. In 1844 ^^ Evan-
gelical Union Church was formed, of which the celebrated Dr Landels, who
afterwards joined the Baptists, became the first minister, but the cause did
not long survive his departure. About that time a quoad sacra church was
also built ; but, notwithstanding the intervening distance, Newmilns retained
its hold, and now there was the peaceful severance.
First Minister. — JOHN Drysdale ROBERTSON, from Stirling (Erskine
Church). Ordained, 24th June 1884. On 3rd May 1885 the church was
opened, when the debt was cleared off by the special collections, and a
balance left for the building of a manse. This new undertaking was entered
on, and a grant of .1^200 obtained from the Manse Board, leaving the con-
gregation to raise ^i65o. The debt of ^230 which remained after the manse
was finished was also got rid of in a few years, with the help of ^100 from
the Debt Liquidating Fund. This young congregation was now fully
equipped every way ; but a displacement came on 26th June 1893, when
Mr Robertson accepted a call to Ebenezer Church, Leith, leaving a mem-
bership of over 200.
Second Minister. — David R. W. Scott, M.A., from Camphill, Glasgow.
Ordained, 19th December 1893. The returns six years after this showed
a communion roll with 262 names, and a stipend of ^ibz from the people,
with the manse.
HURLFORD (United Presbyterian)
In 1 88 1 the attention of Kilmarnock Presbytery was turned to Hurlford, a
place two miles south-east of Kilmarnock, as a fit field for evangelistic work,
but it was found on inquiry that it would be inexpedient to commence
operations at that time. But in May 1896 a petition from 51 members and
21 adherents, who had broken away from the Free Church congregation,
was favourably entertained. Intimation having been sent to sessions, and
also to the Free Presbytery of Irvine, and no objections offered, a supply of
preachers was sanctioned on 7th July, and on 2nd February 1897 a con-
gregation was formed with a communion roll of loi. This was followed on
1 6th March by six of their number being ordained as elders.
First Minister. — Matthew Johnston, from Camphill, Glasgow. Or-
dained, 6th July 1897, in the Institute Hall, where they had worshipped
from the beginning. Mr Johnston had been located at Hurlford since
November, and the call, signed by 112 members, was both unanimous and
cordial. The people undertook to raise .;^ioo of the stipend, which was
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 323
made up by ^25 from the Ferguson Bequest Fund, with "supplement and
surplus, to ^186, besides ^20 for house rent. The congregation removed to
their own hall in February 1898, and the new church was opened on Satur-
day, 15th October, by the Moderator of Synod, the Rev. Dr Blair of Dun-
blane. It was planned to accommodate 400, and the estimated cost of the
buildings was not more than ^2000. To meet this outlay the congregation
raised /200 at the outset, and were to receive ^500 from the Extension
Fund and ^500 from the Permanent Loan Fund. A well-patronised bazaar
followed in December 1897, so that the debt was well provided for. At the
close of 1899 there was a membership of 159.
SOUTHERN DIVISION— COLMONELL (Antiburgher)
The first mention of this place in early Secession records is on 24th April
1745, when a petition was presented to the Associate Presbytery of Glasgow
from several within the Colmonell bounds who had formerly acceded,
craving supply of preaching in that corner. This was followed on 27th
August by a similar petition from Girvan and Colmonell, places twelve
miles apart. In reply to another application Mr John Swanston was
appointed to preach three Sabbaths to the community of Colmonell, an
expression which seems to imply that they were already organised into a
congregation. In April 1746 a probationer was sent to supply two Sabbaths
within the bounds of Carrick and Colmonell, and an election of elders was
next applied for. On loth June a formal accession was given in of about 14
persons in Minnigaff parish, which, though sixteen miles distant, was
reckoned within the bounds of Colmonell community. At the first meeting
after the Breach the congregation of Carrick and Galloway earnestly
besought the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow to sue for peace with their
brethren, but, without waiting the result, they petitioned the Antiburgher
Synod soon after to' grant them the supply of sermon they needed. Then
in the beginning of 1748 Galloway and Carrick were before the same Synod
craving that ministers and probationers missioned to Ireland might preach
to them on their way going and returning. In this state matters continued
for years, services being held at various places within the wide bounds, but
in 1755 a humble church was built at a place called Ford, a little way from
the village of Colmonell, and this became the seat of the congregation. In
1757 they called Mr James Henderson, but he was under obligation to pro-
ceed to Pennsylvania, and the Synod set the call aside. Mr Henderson was
afterwards settled in Rattray.
First Minister.— lYiou\f> RusSELL, from Falkirk or Dennyloanhead.
Ordained, 21st May 1760. At the time of the settlement the Presbytery
was apprehensive that the congregation had not ability to support a
minister, and after nine years had passed it was found that there had been
scarcely any accessions to fill up the blanks made by removals or by death.
While there was little hope of matters improving, and the stipend was
nearly two years behind, a call came out to Mr Russell from Greenloaning.
He had already represented to his brethren that, unless something was
done to better his position, he was afraid it would not be in his power
to keep himself on proper terms with the world, and the congregation
explained in reply that, owing to their weak state, they did not think they
could do better, and there was danger that they might not find them-
selves able to do so much. The Presbytery believed that the deficiency
sprang from real incapacity, and meanwhile each session was urged to give
them ^i, and, if better could not be, it was felt that Mr Russell would have
324 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to be loosed from his charge. A fitting opportunity was now afforded, and
to clear his way the connection with Colmonell was dissolved, i8th April
1769. But though without a minister the people had no inclination to abandon
the struggle, and the Presbytery gave them credit for exerting them-
selves beyond their ability. It was also agreed that at this critical time
each member should grant them a day's preaching gratis, and that the com-
munion should be observed some time that summer, in the hope that this
" might be a means of keeping up their drooping spirits upon the back of
such heavy discouragements." In this feeble state the congregation con-
tinued for eight years, and then they called Mr James Pattison, a preacher
who had been brought up among them, but the Synod appointed him to
Moniaive.
Second Minister. — John Blair, from Ceres (West). Ordained, 19th
April 1780, so that the vacancy lasted exactly eleven years. The call was
signed by 44 (male) members, and 52 others adhered, and declared their
willingness to contribute. The stipend promised was j^35, with a house
and "a horse keep." A new church was built in 1800 at a cost of only
^120, with 170 sittings. Mr Blair laboured on for nearly forty years
without the congregation experiencing much improvement. He died at
Ford, where the church and manse stood, on nth January 1820, in the
sixty-seventh year of his age, leaving two sons, who became United
Secession ministers — John at Drymen, and James at Warkworth. Mr Blair
has again and again been put down as a Protestor against the Union, but it
will be seen from the above date that he died eight months before the Union
was consummated, and while the negotiations were going on he took no
part whatever with his three co-Presbyters who were on the opposition side.
Colmonell congregation, moreover, remained in connection with the United
Synod for nearly two years. It was not till ist July 1822 that they intimated
to the Presbytery of Wigtown their resolution to join the Protestors. The
Clerk also stated that since receiving this notice he had preached at Colmonell,
and found that a minority disapproved of the change resolved on, but that
meanwhile nothing further could be done. However, in August some members
applied for sermon, which was kept up occasionally, and in May 1824 the
Synod granted ^5 to aid with supply. This cannot have continued long,
nor was it needed, there being a Reformed Presbyterian church within two
miles, besides the Protestor congregation in the village. The majority in
their new connection obtained the Rev. Benjamin Laing, formerly of
Arbroath, for their minister, but this was not till 1830. Mr Laing was a son
of the Rev. Robert Laing of Duns (East), and became known as Dr
Benjamin Laing, Professor of Hebrew to the Original Secession Synod. In
1836 he had a membership of 70, and a stipend of ^50, with manse and
garden. A little volume of his, entitled " Historical Notices of the Ecclesi-
astical Divisions in Scotland," advocates Union on a very broad basis, and it
brought him into trouble with his brethren. At the Union of 1852 he joined
the Free Church, taking the great majority of his people with him, and in
the following year he was inducted into the vacant Free Church of Colmonell,
his own people having their names added to the communion roll. He died,
1 2th October 1862, in the seventieth year of his age and forty-second of his
ministry. A small remnant of the old congregation kept by the Original
Secession Synod, and even had a minister set over them, but after a time he
went into the Established Church, and the cause is now extinct in Colmonell,
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 325
AUCHINLECK (Antiburgher)
Wallacetown is the name under which this congregation is known in
early Secession records. It consisted at first of "Societies in the South
and West," which acceded to the Associate Presbytery on 13th April 1738.
As they were far scattered they were asked to fix on a convenient place for
having week-day or Sabbath services, but they craved to be allowed several
centres owing to the distances embraced. On 22nd June Messrs Nairn and
Mair were to observe a Fast at Kirkconnel, and preach on the following
Sabbath at Wallacetown. Supply was now sent sometimes to the one
place and sometimes to the other, and there is an allusion in 1739 to the
electing of elders between them, though the places were at least a dozen
miles asunder. Before long, when Sanquhar became the gathering-point
for the societies in Nithsdale, Kirkconnel must have been drawn in to form
part of the congregation there, so that Wallacetown was left alone. In
Dr M'Kelvie's Annals there are marks of confusion through identifying this
Wallacetown with Wallacetown which now forms part of the town of Ayr.
But the place where the Seccders met was on the north side of Airsmoss,
in the district of Auchinleck and Muirkirk.
When Mr Smyton was ordained at Kilmaurs in November 1740 it was
understood that the station at Wallacetown, though twenty miles distant,
was to be under his care. It was afterwards arranged that he should
preach there four Sabbaths in the year, but it was thought desirable ere
long to have the south quarter of his charge erected into a separate con-
gregation. Still, the people about Auchinleck had to depend mainly on
Kilmaurs for gospel ordinances, and William M'Gavin, the author of "The
Protestant," has related how his father and mother used to ride on the same
horse a distance of twenty miles each way to attend Mr Smyton's ministry.
A church was at last built a little to the south of the village, but when this
was done, or at what time regular supply of sermon was obtained, cannot
be determined.
First Minister. — ROBERT SMITH, from Mid-Calder. Ordained, 30th
November 1763. In 1778 Mr Smith published a pamphlet against the
Burghers, entitled " Self-inconsistency Exemplified," a production which
may have influenced his son's hostility to the Union between the two
sections of the Secession forty years afterwards. The congregation never
acquired much strength, and in the last decade of the century the members
in Auchinleck parish are put down at 20, but a much larger number may
have come from other parishes. In 1803 the people were expecting to
secure Mr Smith's son Alexander for his colleague, but the young man
died on 20th September of that year, and the father's resignation, owing
to age and infirmities, was accepted, 31st January i8og, the congregation
allowing him ^26 a year. He afterwards removed to Kilwinning, where an
elder son was minister, and he died there, 12th June 181 7, in the eighty-
fourth year of his age and fifty-fourth of his ministerial life. William
M'Gavin testified to the minister of his early days as follows : — "The Rev.
Robert Smith was a man of feeble and deformed body, such as I suppose
Alexander Pope to have been, but of a most acute and vigorous mind ; and
his congregation became distinguished all the country round for the extent
of their religious knowledge, correct acquaintance with their principles, and
the ability with which they maintained them."
Second Minister. — Robert Crawford, from Craigmailen. Ordained,
29th October 181 1. In May 1812 a case involving a serious charge of
immorality against Mr Crawford came up to the Synod by reference from
Kilmarnock Presbytery, to whom it was sent back for fuller investigation.
326 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
It reappeared a year later, Mr Crawford having protested against a sentence
of suspension pronounced on him by the Presbytery after he had been
acquitted by the Provincial Synod of (ilasgow. It comes out that charges
in the same line, but of a milder type, had cropped up later on, and now,
when dealt with by a committee, he acknowledged imprudences, and under-
went rebuke. But Mr Crawford having urged the Synod to loose hirn from
his charge, this was done on 13th May 18 13, partly on the ground of six
elders having sent in a paper with pleadings to the same effect. He then
removed within the bounds of Edinburgh Presbytery, before whom he
appeared in November, and took the oath of purgation, and in October
181 5 his name was put on the probationer list. This was followed in
January 18 17 by his induction into Elgin (South Street), where he died in
1828, much respected. His son was long minister in Burntisland.
Early in 1814 Auchinleck congregation called Mr Andrew Scott, whom
the Synod appointed to Crieff, and at the close of the year they called
Mr Andrew Isaac, a probationer from about Perth, but after a time a call
from Berwick (Church Street) was announced, which the Synod preferred.
But progi'ess was arrested in a distressing way. At the meeting at which
he was expected to finish his trials for ordination he did not appear, but
was found wandering by the river side, his reason quite gone. In harmony
with this there is the following entry in the Church Street records : — "Paid
for taking Mr Isaac home, ^5" ; and in November 1815 the call was with-
drawn, owing, they said, to the events that had taken place, and the
impression they had made. Having recovered from this sad visitation
Mr Isaac emigrated to America, and was ordained on 31st October 1821
to the charge of Carmel, Indiana. In 1827 he was translated to London-
derry, Ohio, where he died, 12th September 1840, aged fifty-one, "the
repose of nature being sweetly exchanged for the sleep of the righteous."
Third Mmister. — Peter M'Derment, from Ayr (now Original Seces-
sion). Ordained, 3rd April 1816. The call was signed by 52 male members
and 20 adherents, the stipend to be ^100, with a house. At the Union of
1820 Mr M'Derment went with his co-presbyter and former minister, the
Rev. George Stevenson, and, like him, took part in the formation of the Pro-
testor Synod, 29th May 1821. This step led some elders and members of
his congregation to apply to the United Presbytery at their next meeting for
advice " in their present trying circumstances." Mr M'Derment refused to
meet with the committee appointed thereupon to converse with him ; but
they reported that they found even the dissentients well affected towards
their minister, though dissatisfied with his conduct in constituting a Pro-
testor Session in opposition to the wishes of the majority of the eldership.
But Mr M'Derment and the other two Anti-Unionists in Kilmarnock Pres-
bytery must have been men of pacific minds, for even at this late hour they
wished a conference with their brethren. Everything passed off pleasantly
when the two parties met ; but there was no getting over antagonistic con-
victions, and nothing remained but to part asunder. After this the section
at Auchinleck who adhered to the United Synod had preaching kept up
among them for a time ; but there was nothing now to prevent them joining
the Burgher congregation of Cumnock, a single mile distant, and thus the
uprise of an opposition church was prevented.
Mr M'Derment died, 26th September 1833, in the fiftieth year of his age
and eighteenth of his ministry. Dr M'Crie, in lamenting his loss, wrote
thus : "There was so much of the milk of human kindness about him, so
much gentleness, so much piety, so much anxiety to do good, so much zeal for
the public cause." The congregation, after a vacancy of nearly four years,
during which they experienced four disappointments, obtained for their
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 327
minister Mr George Roger, M.A., who was ordained, 8th November 1837,
and died, 4th April 1870, in the sixtieth year of his age and thirty-third of his
ministry. He was succeeded by the present minister, the Rev. Professor
.Spence. The congregation, for want of denominational feeders, has neces-
sarily declined, and in 1884 there was a membership of only 28, but with a
high standard of liberality.
AYR (Antiburgher)
In 1764, the year when the minutes of the Antiburgher Presbytery of
Glasgow begin, Ayr was receiving occasional supply of sermon. On 2nd
April 1765 seven persons gave in an accession to the Act and Testimony,
and other 3 followed on 24th June 1766. It was now thought proper to have
a session organised, and after inquiry the Presbytery found the people to be
in a state of ripeness for having an election of elders. Accordingly, four
were chosen, and pronounced qualified ; but only three were ordained, the
fourth having refused to come forward. In 1770 the first church was built,
but as regards the cost or the dimensions there is nothing known. The first
preacher they called was Mr Thomas Darg, a young man belonging to the
West. The call bore the signatures of 33 (male) members, and it was con-
curred in by 13 others. Unfortunately, it might be thought, for Mr Darg's
comfort, he had acquired some command of the Gaelic language through
residing for a considerable time in the North Highlands as a tutor. After Ayr
appeared sure of their object he was called to Wick, where this special gift
would be of service, and the Synod accordingly fixed him down in that
ungenial outpost.
First Minister. — John Clarkson, son of the Rev. Andrew Clarkson,
Craigmailen. Ordained, 21st April 1772, and died, 21st August 1780, in
the thirty-third year of his age and ninth of his ministry. A daughter of his,
who was a mere infant when her father died, became the wife of Dr Heugh
of Glasgow. The widow of Mr Clarkson of Ayr survived her husband nearly
sixty-three years, and died, 28th April 1843. Dr Heugh wrote next day to
his son in India: "Your grandmother finished her long pilgrimage yester-
day, tranquilly falling asleep in the midst of us. She has been thirty years
under my roof, and has mingled with all the little incidents of our passing
domestic history." She was in her 89th year.
Some time after Mr Clarkson's death the congregation called Mr
Alexander Allan to be his successor, the call being signed by 43 (male)
members, and adhered to by 36 not in communion, who declared their •
willingness to contribute for the support of the gospel in connection with
the congregation, but the Synod appomted him to Coupar-Angus.
Second Minister. — James Taylor, from Buchlyvie. Ordained on a
unanimous call, 14th November 1781. Mr Taylor, having been sent by
the Synod on a mission to England his course came suddenly to an end,
as the inscription attests on a neglected tombstone in the now disused
burying-ground connected with the old Antiburgher meeting-house at Kendal.
It runs thus: "Erected by his congregation to the memory of the Rev.
James Taylor, Minister of the Gospel at (Wallacetown, Ayr), who died in
this town, August 12th, 1793, on his way to Liverpool. Aged 37. His
character may be known by the tears of his flock and the grief of his
friends." Of Mr Taylor all we know further is that he was a son-in-law
of Professor Moncrieff of Alloa. A few months after falling vacant the
congregation called Mr James Watt, whom the Synod, in keeping with
328 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
his own wishes, appointed to Pennsylvania.* Two years later they made
choice of Mr David Hog, but the Presbytery by a unanimous vote
assigned hmi to Kilwinning. He was ultimately settled in Rothesay.
Third Minister.— G^OKGK Stevenson, from Morebattle. Ordained,
22nd February 1797. When negotiations for Union with the Burgher
Synod were gomg on Mr Stevenson was a member of committee, and
took the lead in resisting the proposal to make covenanting a matter of
forbearance in the United Church. This was the strong point with him,
as hostility to the Burgess Oath was with Professor Paxton. As the
decisive Synod was drawing on, he and Mr Smith of Kilwinning repre-
sented to Kilmarnock Presbytery the difficulty they had in co-operating
with those brethren who were already joining in communion work with
the Burghers, and it was agreed to recommend that the practice complained
of be as far as possible avoided in the meantime. When the Union came
Mr Stevenson stood foremost among the Protestors, and his congregation
kept by him. If any were otherwise minded they had the means of placing
themselves noiselessly under the ministry of Mr Schaw. In 1824 Mr
Stevenson published "A Plea for the Covenanted Reformation," in which
the subject is very ably reasoned out. The statement that the author was
a man of amiable disposition and the reverse of a controversialist is favoured
by the fact that in this treatise there is no recriminating of his former
brethren. Mr Stevenson received the degree of D.D. from New Jersey
in 1834, and in 1836 his son George was called to be his colleague, but
the Synod appointed him to Kilwinning. At this time the congregation
had a communion roll of 273, and the stipend was ^138, with 16
guineas for house rent. There was a debt on the property of ^^270. Dr
Stevenson died, 5th May 1841, in the seventieth year of his age and forty-
fifth of his ministry. Mr John Robertson, from an active family in Dr
Paxton's Church, Edinburgh, was ordained, 29th May 1843. He and his
congregation kept by the Original Secession Synod in 1852, and in 1884
they had a membership of 160, with a total income of ^315.
AYR, DARLINGTON PLACE (Burgher)
On 13th June 1797 the Burgher Presbytery of Kilmarnock received a petition
for sermon from Ayr with 13 names appended, and Mr Russell of Dairy was
appointed to preach there on the following Sabbath. The applicants, we
* James Watt was called to two congregations in Ireland, his native country— to
Hillhall and Dublin— as well as to Ayr, but some of his relatives having emigrated
to America he expressed his willingness to go there, and the Synod in May 1794
appointed him to Pennsylvania. But that year he published anonymously ' ' Animad-
versions on existing Circumstances among Antiburgher Seceders," in which he ques-
tioned whether their professions of absolute adherence to the standards of the Church,
and their conduct in covenanting, were marked by integrity. He also suggested that
the Secession Testimony was in some points materially wrong. Having owned him-
self the author of this pamphlet, and refusing to retract, he was suspended from
preaching by the Synod in May 1795. A year afterwards he made certain acknow-
ledgments, submitted to rebuke, and was restored. No sooner was this done than he
read a paper declaring that Presbyterian Church Government and Infant Baptism
are opposed to the Word of God, and that the subscription of creeds has no warrant
in Scripture. For these reasons he renounced subjection to the Synod, and they on
their part excluded him from the communion of the Church. After this he qualified
as an M.D., wrote controversially, and became pastor of a Baptist church in Glaseow
where he died, 3rd March 1821, aged fifty-nine. '
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 329
may assume, had previously belonged to other churches of the same con-
nection, and, having settled down in the town, they wished a congregation
formed to stand midway between what was deemed the narrowness of
the Antiburghers and the laxity of the Relief. In 1799 a church, with
610 sittings, was built at a cost of ^loio, and, to prepare the way for an
election of elders, a paper of formal accession from 48 persons was given
in to the Presbytery on nth February 1800. At the same meeting an
appeal against a refusal of Tarbolton session to disjoin a family who
wished to be annexed to Ayr was sustained, and on i6th March four elders
were ordained. On 5th August a call signed by 31 members and 32 ad-
herents was addressed to the Rev. Hector Cameron of Moffat, the stipend
promised being ^100, but the Presbytery of Edinburgh decided to con-
tinue him at Moffat.
First Minister. — WILLIAM SCHAW, who had been ordained six years
before at Lochwinnoch, and had preached again and again to Ayr people
while the cause was in course of formation. The translation was agreed to
by the Presbytery, and Mr Schaw was inducted, 26th August 1801, the
services being conducted in the open air. Under his ministry, and in the
midst of a growing population, the congregation increased by degrees, till in
1836 it had a membership of 400. The stipend was ^126 in all, and there
was a debt of only ^250 on the building. Next year he was Moderator of
Synod, and in 1839 he received the degree of D.D. from Jefferson College,
Pennsylvania. In August 1845 I^"" Schaw's jubilee was celebrated with
much cordiality, but the age of money presentations was not yet fully
begun. The congregation had passed through a short period of com-
motion some time before in the choosing of a colleague. At the first
moderation Mr Hugh Darling, afterwards of Stitchei, was carried over
Mr James Clyde by 108 votes to 95, and a disruption was threatened.
Harmony, however, was restored and the storm appeased by casting the
successful candidate adrift, and beginning anew.
Second Minister. — James Knox, M.A., from Port-Glasgow. Ordained
as colleague and successor to Dr Schaw, 17th July 1844, the call being
harmonious, and signed by 269 members. For stipend Mr Knox was to
have ^100, and the senior minister £,12)1 ^^ arrangement in which the
latter expressed full concurrence. In the winter of 1846 Dr Schaw was
pronounced to be labouring under heart disease, and after a fortnight of
complete prostration he died, 19th September 1847, in the seventy-seventh
year of his age and fifty-third of his ministry. In an obituary notice which
appeared soon afterwards his excellences were summed up as follows : — " He
was the friend of peace and order, a lover of good men, and an ornament
of the Church and profession to which he belonged." Besides a number of
stray discourses Dr Schaw published a volume of sermons in 1821, entitled
"The Christian Monitor." In 1856 Mr Knox received a divided call to
Greyfriars, Glasgow, which he declined ; but another quickly followed from
Pollok Street, which he accepted on 8th July of that year, and Ayr became
vacant. The stipend was now to be ^210, including everything.
Third Minister. — Robert M. M'Innes, from Glasgow (now Woodlands
Road). Ordained, 25th August 1857. Exactly three years afterwards the
present church was opened, with sittings for 767, and built at a cost of
;^348o. In 1879 there was a membership of 465, and the stipend had been
raised altogether to .^362, los., while the total income for that year ap-
proximated to ^2000. After a long struggle with an incurable ailment Mr
M'Innes died, 24th December 1894, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and
thirty-eighth of his ministry. His eldest son, the Rev. John M'Innes, had
been ordained in Darlington Place Church for India on 8th October 1884,
330 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
his father presiding on the important though trying occasion. His field of
mission labour is Alwar, Rajputana.
Fourth Minister.— h^\'>v.Y.\v M. SxMlTH, M.A., from Trmity Church,
Sunderland, to which he had been translated from Hamilton (Saffronhall)
four years before. Inducted to Darlington Place, 26th September 1895,
and loosed, 26th June 1900, on accepting a call to. be colleague to the
Rev. James Robertson, Viewforth U.P. Church, Edinburgh. In the begin-
ning of that year there were 540 names on the communion roll, and the
stipend was ^363. At the Union with the Free Church the congregation
was vacant.
AYR, CATHCART STREET (Relief)
This congregation originated in a petition from a number of people in Ayr
and its vicinity craving the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow to appoint some
of their ministers to preach to them the word of life. This was on 6th
September 18 14. There had been a change in the pulpit of the parish
church through the death of Dr Dalrymple in January of that year. Mr
Auld was transferred from the second to the first charge ; but in his new
colleague there was no promise that the reign of Moderatism which pre-
vailed under Drs Dalrymple and M'Gill was coming to an end. Hence,
as a reason for the application now made, the parties assigned "their
destitute state for want of the gospel." Most of them, it is said, had been
accustomed attending and communicating at Newton-on-Ayr, where there
was an evangelical ministry, but they now set about obtaining the same
privilege in a simpler way. Mr Stewart of Anderston Church opened the
station on the third Sabbath of September. The granary of a large brewery
was the meeting-place at first, and Mr James Howie in his History of Ayr
stated that he remembered hearing the celebrated Alexander Harvey, then
in Kilmarnock, preach in that temporary meeting-house at their first com-
munion. There must, however, be some mistake here, as Mr Harvey \yas
not even a divinity student at that time. In proceeding with the building
of a church time was lost and much additional expense incurred by the
walls rending when the roof was being put on, making the total cost ^^3300.
This was the account their second minister gave in 1836 to the Commis-
sioners on Religious Instruction. The sittings numbered 1182.
First Minister.— ]om^ NiCHOL, from Dovehill, Glasgow. Ordained,
5th December 1816. Mr Nichol had another call from Kilbarchan, which
was withdrawn when he announced his acceptance of Ayr. The amount
of stipend is not given in the Presbytery minutes, but care was taken to
have the bond extended on a legal stamp. Mr Nichol died of inflamma-
tion of the lungs on 9th April 1825, after an illness of four days, in the
thirty-third year of his age and ninth of his ministry. A volume of his
discourses, which I have not seen, was published after his death. The first
meeting of session, it should have been stated, was held on 14th February
181 7, and the first name entered was that of Henry Cowan, who did more
than anyone else to help on the Relief cause in Ayr.
Second Minister.— ROB¥.RT Renwick, from Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
Ordained, 28th November 1826. The stipend was to be ^160. On the
moderation day he was the only eligible candidate, the others not having
preached four Sabbaths, and it was reported at the time that owing to this
there were only 260 signatures at the call, or little more than a fourth of
what might have been. Some want of cordiality may account for an
attempt which was made two years afterwards to form a second Relief
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 331
congregation in Ayr. Sermon was granted in July 1828, the centre to
be in Newton-on-Ayr, and after a trial of some Sabbaths the Presbytery
were of opinion that the movement ought to be encouraged ; but all at
once silence comes in, and the proposal is never heard of again. In 1836
Mr Renwick's communion roll was close on 900, which was a good many
more than the two Secession congregations taken together. About three-
hfths of the families resided within the parish, and the others, excepting a
few from Maybole, Dundonald, and Monkton, were within the boundaries
ot Newton-on-Ayr and St Quivox. The stipend was now ^180, with /5
at each communion. It might have been more, as the seat rents alone
yielded over ^200 a year, but there was a debt of ;{;2ooo resting on the
property. This heavy burden was much reduced in 1845, Mr Henry Cowan
evincing his unabated interest in the cause by a donation of ^500. With
Mr Renwick all went on smoothly till, on 14th January 185 1, a letter was
received from him by the Presbytery, in which he made an acknowledgment
which involved the unhappy termination of his ministerial life. At next
meeting, on nth February, the congregation intimated that they could not
forget Mr Renwick's faithfulness, and they hoped he would be dealt with
as leniently as was consistent with the Rules of the Church. But the
sentence was suspension sine die. As he had made all the reparation
possible 268 members petitioned within three months to have him restored
to office. The session, however, put in an appearance against it, and the
1 resbytery adhered to their former decision. Mr Renwick now betook
himself to a secular calling. He was ultimately stationmaster at Maryhill,
where he died of apoplexy, 20th May 1862, in the sixty-fourth year of
his age.
Third Minister.— T>\v\d M'Ewan, son of the Rev. James M'Ewan of
Strathaven (First). Mr M'Ewan's popularity as a preacher was attested
by calls from Alloa (West), London (Albion Chapel), and Strathaven (First)
from which his father had retired, as well as from Cathcart Street, Ayr'
Ordained, 24th September 1851. The stipend was now ^200, with sacra-
mental and travelling expenses. In less than a year Mr M'Ewan was
ca led to College Street, Edinburgh, to be Dr French's colleague, and the
call on being repeated was accepted, ist November 1852.
Fourth Minister.— Walter Morison, B.A., from Glasgow (Wellington
Street). Called first to Peterhead, but preferred Ayr, and was ordained,
loth August 1853. The stipend was ^215. Memory recalls in this connec-
tion a long article which appeared in the denominational magazine for
K ^ at°"a " '"".^o^'^h Presbyterian Preaching." There was no name given,
but Mr Morison of Ayr was known to be the author, and it marked him out
in our estimation as a minister destined to be better known and widelv heard
of. Promotion came, and on 9th February 1864 he accepted a 'call to
Lglinton Street, Glasgow.
Fifth Afi/nster.—GKORGK Copland, M.A., from Glasgow (St Vincent
Street). Ordained, 4th January 1865, the membership being 628, and the
stipend was to be ^270, including everything. In 1872 the minister was
turnished with a manse at an outlay of ^1200, the congregation drawing
nothing from the Central Board, and within the next eight years upwards
of ,41300 "as expended on church improvements and the erection of a
suitable hall. At the Union the membership was 450, and the stipend /^2o
with the manse. r tj , f ,oj ,
332 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
AYR, WALLACE STREET (United Presbyterian)
On 25th January 1898 a letter from the Evangelical Union Church, Wallace
Street, Ayr, was presented to the Presbytery of the bounds to be received
into the U.P. Church. This was the first of three similar applications from
E.U. churches which came before the Synod in May of that year. In this
case the congregation had voted unanimously against joining the Congrega-
tional Union on the basis proposed, objecting specially to the following
statement: — "The Union as such does not require formal subscription or
assent to any doctrinal creed" — not even to what were known as "the three
great universalities." The applicants explained that they had a membership
of 180, and were to be self-supporting. Their church was the place of
worship in which Dr Schaw's congregation met in Burgher and Secession
days, but which they vacated in i860, when they removed to Darlington
Place. It had recently been renovated at a cost of not less than ^1000,
which left a debt of ^200,
This congregation was constituted on 12th June 1844 by the Rev. James
Morison of Kilmarnock, whose case, along with the doctrinal discussions
involved, and the prominence given to the motto "Salvation for all," had
made a deep impression on Ayr. Sabbath services were held first in a
dwelling-house, then in a hall, and then in the Corn Exchange. In 1865
they acquired the church which they still occupy. Not till the present
minister came do they seem to have attained to much stability. The
ministers came and went in rapid succession, and sometimes the congrega-
tion disappeared from the attested list of E.U. churches altogether, as if the
cause had been in a state of suspended animation But we now come down
to present times and to the present situation.
First Minister. — Alexander Stewart, B.D., from Dundas Street
E.U. congregation, Glasgow. After graduating in Glasgow University and
attending the E.U. Hall four sessions Mr Stewart got licence from the
Conference in 1879, and was ordained at Ayr in August 1884, his own
minister, the Rev. Dr Morison, presiding. On applying to the Presbytery of
Kilmarnock and Ayr to be admitted along with his congregation to the
U.P. Church he declared that he held by the Presbyterian system of Church
government, and believed in a basis of creed or confession. The Declara-
tory Act had removed doctrinal difficulties that might otherwise have stood
in his way. On 23rd May 1898 the Presbytery met in Wallace Street
Church according to the remit of Synod, when the Rev. Alexander Stewart,
having answered the questions of the Formula, was received along with his
office-bearers and congregation into the U.P. Church. Some 45 members
had broken away more than a year before owing to a difference with their
brethren about the reconstruction of the church. They now form the
" Morison " congregation, and are connected with the Congregational
Union. They worship in what used to be Dr Stevenson's church. At the
close of 1899 Wallace Street had a membership of 204, and the stipend was
AYR, TRINITY CHURCH (Uniti<:d Presbyterian)
On 7th July 1896 a circular on the subject from the Home Mission Secretary
stirred the Presbytery of Kilmarnock and Ayr to set about arranging for
Church Extension in earnest within their bounds. A committee, to which
the matter was handed over, reported at an early meeting that there were
two openings in the town of Ayr, and that one or other of these should be
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 333
fixed on for immediate action. The one was on the south side of the river,
where buildings had extended outwards among the more prosperous classes ;
the other was in a working-class district on the north side, where the
population had increased not less than 2000 in ten or twelve years. It was
decided to take the south side first, and the north side as soon as practicable.
The returns from sessions on 3rd November were all favourable to this
order, except in one case, where it was thought the claims of the north side
should have had precedence. Thus an increase of churches to the de-
nomination was resolved on for the first time since 1814, when the Relief
congregation in Cathcart Street sprang into existence. The site finally
chosen was about a mile south from either of the other two churches, but
it was not till April 1898 that the erection of a hall was proceeded with.
The Board was to aid with a grant of ^500, and, better still, a lady friend of
Church Extension was to give whatsoever sum might be needed up to ;f^8oo.
She wished at the same time to have the place of worship kept open certain
hours on week-days for any who might wish to resort thither for meditation
and prayer. It was in the line of Old Testament worship, when the godly
went up to the temple on Zion at the hour of the evening sacrifice. One is
curious to know how far the arrangement would have served its purpose, but
a constant attendant could scarcely have been dispensed with, and the con-
dition was not insisted on. The hall was opened, and services begun, on
Sabbath, 20th November 1898, and 24 members, most of them certified from
the sessions of Darlington Place or Cathcart Street, were formed into a con-
gregation on 2nd February 1899. Three of their number were soon after
chosen and inducted as elders, one of them the Rev. James Allison, minister-
emeritus of Alexandria, and the other two had held office before. With the
sums already mentioned, and another gift of ;^25o, the liberality of the
people supplying the rest, the buildings, which along with the site cost
^2000, were already free of debt, and the way was opened up to rapid
prosperity.
First Minister. — Millar Patrick, M.A., translated from Biggar (Moat
Park), where he had been ordained five years before. Inducted, 12th July
1899. The call was signed by 29 members and 20 adherents, and the
stipend was to be ^300, the congregation to raise ^150. In the following
year the people contributed ^250 of the ^300, and the membership at the
Union is believed to have been over 200. As the hall accommodates only
180 a church of suitable dimensions was already felt to be an urgent
necessity.
CUMNOCK (Burgher)
The first application to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow from this place
for sermon was on 5th August 1773, and Mr Walker of Mauchline, the
nearest minister, preached there on the fourth Sabbath of that month. The
paper given in was in name of more than 30 persons, chiefly heads of
families, and it assigned reasons at full length for the step they were taking.
It had six signatures, one of them that of a Seceder probably connected with
Mauchline congregation, six miles off". On 5th February 1775 the adherents
formally acceded to the Presbytery, which shows that in Cumnock the
Secession was breaking new ground, and in December elders were ordained.
That year the first church was built, and a moderation was next applied for,
with the promise of ^5 5 a year, and other ^5 when the minister should " take
up house."
First Minister. — J AMES H ALL, from Glasgow (now Greyfriars). Ordained,
334 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
1 6th April 1777, when he was only four months over the age of twenty. Mr
Hall, it is said, " was not appreciated in Cumnock according to his merits,"
but a larger sphere of usefulness awaited him. In 1780 he was called to
Wells Street, London, but the Synod continued him in Cumnock. In May
1786 a call he had received from " New Edinburgh" came up to the Supreme
Court for disposal. He was absent through illness, but the case went on,
and the transportation was agreed to. During Mr Hall's ministry of nine
years in Cumnock the congregation must have prospered, as a call they now
addressed to the Rev. William Watson of Largs was signed by 234 members
and 171 adherents, but the Synod forbade the transference.
Second Minister. — David Wilson, from Cambusnethan. The Presby-
tery of Glasgow having preferred Cumnock to Lanark he was ordained, 30th
October 1 788. The people engaged for ^70, with a house, and the farmers
were also to furnish the minister with a horse when required, except in seed-
time and harvest. This provision was needed, as Mr Wilson's hearers were
drawn from stretches of at least a dozen miles. The Rev. Peter Mearns,
in a very interesting Memoir of Mr Wilson, has mentioned that the con-
gregation got a large accession of strength from New Cumnock in 1796,
where the settlement of an unpopular clergyman led to a general disruption,
leaving, even on a good day, not more than 24 persons in the parish church.
Mr Wilson kept faithfully by the good old custom of giving a lecture as his
first discourse Sabbath by Sabbath, and his preaching throughout was set to
the gospel keynote. He died, 17th December 1822, in the sixty-ninth year
of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry. Mr Mearns states that Mr Wilson
might have removed to Ayr at the time the Burgher congregation was
formed, but though this may have been talked of the formal offer was never
made.
Third Minister. — ROBERT Brown, from Kilmarnock (now Portland
Road). Had calls to Kinghorn, Kirkcaldy (Union Church), and Cumnock,
but the last named was signed by 540 members and 152 adherents, or more
than the other two put together, and was preferred by the Synod. The
stipend was to be ^130, with manse and ground, and he was ordained, i8th
November 1823. Mr Brown has been described as dignified in manner, but
kindly, and a very edifying preacher. We see him mounted on his black
pony, away on some far round of visitation among the scattered families
of his flock. In 1831 the present church was built, with 851 sittings. Mr
Brown died, i8th July 1847, in the fifty-third year of his age and twenty-
fourth of his ministry, leaving a widow and a family of four, of whom the
youngest, his only son, was to be afterwards known as Dr James Brown, St
James' Church, Paisley.
Fourth Minister. — Matthew Dickie, from Irvine (Relief), a brother of
the Rev. Andrew Dickie, St Paul's, Aberdeen. Brought up in the Estab-
lished Church, but went over to the Relief before entering on his college
course. Ordained at Cumnock, 5th July 1848, having during a brief pro-
bationership declined Walker, near Newcastle, and Bankhill, Berwick. In
1850 Mr Dickie was invited to Canal Street, Paisley, but he remained in
Cumnock. On 28th April 1857 he accepted a call to the young congrega-
tion of Bristol, with a membership of only 60. There a new church was
opened on 5th September 1859, the cost being very nearly ;^6ooo, and there
was the prospect of rapid prosperity. The acoustics, however, proved a sore
discouragement, though this did not prevent gradual consolidation. In the
spring of 1869 Mr Dickie's health gave way, and after a period of much-
tried endurance he died, 30th May 1871, in the fifty-seventh year of his age
and twenty-third of his ministry. An appreciative Memoir of his life work by
his former co-presbyter, Dr Taylor of New York, was published in 1872,
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 335
with a small selection of his discourses and specimens of his poetical eifts
appended. His son, the Rev. Matthew Muir Dickie, after distinguishing
himself as a student, became minister of Haddington (East).
Fifth Minister. — \Yil.h\\u Hutton, from Pitcairn. Ordained, 3rd
November 1857, and loosed, 14th September 1869, on accepting a call to
Moffat. Shortly before this the manse was rebuilt at a cost of /930, of which
j^200 came from the Manse Board.
Sixth Minister.- Alexander M 'Donald, from Kilsyth, but a native of
KirkmtiUoch. Having preferred Cumnock to Aberdeen (George Street)
he was ordamed there, loth January 1871. The membership at the close
of 1899 was 378, and the stipend ^280, with the manse.
TARBOLTON (Burgher)
The Secession cause got recognised footing in Tarbolton when, in response
to a petition from a Praying Society in that parish, Ralph Erskine and
James Fisher observed a Fast there on the first Thursday of September 1740
and preached on the following Sabbath. Against this alleged intrusion there
appeared in the Courant shortly after a testimony and declaration purport-
ing to be from the elders of Tarbolton parish, but it was signed by only five
out of twelve— the entire number. There is no trace of further supply by the
Associate Presbytery, and, like their brethren throughout most of Ayrshire,
the Seceders in and about Tarbolton would have to attend ordinances at
Kilmaurs, not less than ten miles distant, and accordingly we find that in
1753 Mr Smyton baptised two children from that parish. It was not till 1776
that steps were taken to form a Secession congregation in the place itself.
On 9th April of that year some people in and about Tarbolton presented a
petition to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow for supply of sermon, with
reasons assigned. The station was opened at Milburn, in the neighbour-
hood, on Sabbath week thereafter by Mr Gilfillan of Dunblane, and, a formal
accession being given in at next meeting, the applicants were received as a
congregation on 25th August 1777. The church, with 600 sittings, is be-
lieved to have been built that year, and on 15th February 1778 four elders
were ordained and one inducted.
First Minister. — James Moir, translated from Cumbernauld, where
he had been ordained twelve years before. Being ready for a change Mr
Moir preached a Sabbath at Tarbolton by appointment of Presbytery in
December 1777. A moderation was applied for in March, but the congrega-
tion were enjoined to report in the first instance whether they were prepared
to give their minister £,(x> a year and a free house. At next meeting, though
no reply came, the proceedings went on, and Mr Moir was inducted, 26th
August 1778. When Glasgow Presbytery loosed him from Cumbernauld
Mr Thomson of Kirkintilloch dissented, as was his custom, alleging that the
callers in Tarbolton were not numerous enough to support the gospel, and
that the decision turned on the mere probability of future success. If this
latter statement is correct it can scarcely be said that the event justified the
forecast. After a trial of twenty-four years the congregation was described
in the Old Statistical History as follows : — "They are under the charge of
a pious clergyman, and consist of very worthy persons, but they are not
numerous." At an earlier period they were also burdened with debt
and had to be commended by the Pregbytery to the aid of sister con-
gregations.
In reply to a "Practical Essay on the Death of Jesus Christ," by Dr
M'Gill of Ayr, Mr Moir published in 1787 his "Scripture Doctrine of
336 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Redemption," a treatise "of marked ability." It was followed in 1790 by
" An Account of the Process for Socinian Heresy against Dr M'Gill." These
writings have secured for him a place in Dr M'Kerrow's list of outstanding
Secession authors. The congregation, however, did not prosper under his
labours as might have been expected, and in 1793 aid began to be required
year by year from the Synod Fund. Their weakness was further aggravated
by the formation of Burgher churches at Mauchline and Ayr, which led to
the loss of several families. Mr Moir gave in the demission of his charge
in February 1800, and the Presbytery, on inquiring into his reasons for
taking this step, found that in his intercourse with his people he had not
been sufficiently mindful of the injunction : " Let him that thinketh he
standeth take heed lest he fall." Due acknowledgment having been made,
and rebuke administered, his resignation was accepted on 17th June, the
people agreeing to make a collection annually for his benefit. During his
few remaining years he had an allowance of ^20 from the Synod. He died,
i6th October 1804, in his sixty-seventh year. Mr Moir, by his marriage,
was a brother-in-law of Dr James Hall of Edinburgh.
During this vacancy the congregation called Mr John Belfrage and Mr
James Robertson, but the former was appointed by the Synod to Slateford,
and the latter to Wooler.
Second Minister. — John Campbell, from Greenock (now Trinity Church).
As a probationer Mr Campbell must have been popular, as, besides Tar-
bolton, he had calls to Stitchel, Horndean, and Newbigging ; but Tarbolton
carried in the Synod by an absolute majority, and the ordination followed
on 7th July 1803. Had the decision turned on numbers Tarbolton, with
only 89 members signing, would have had no share with Stitchel, which had
297, but it might be reckoned that three disappointments would be too
many in succession. Under Mr Campbell's ministry there was a steady
building up. The session at first consisted of only three members, and
when additions were attempted the Formula, for some reason, stood oftener
than once in the way, one of the elders-elect in particular refusing to accept
unless one of the questions was materially altered and another expunged
altogether. But Mr Campbell proved himself a judicious guide, and the
name was simply dropped from the list. In 18 19 there was a communion
roll of very nearly 220 names. In April 1844 the congregation called
Mr George Hunter to be Mr Campbell's colleague, but he preferred
Tillicoultry.
Third Minister. — Alexander Dalrymple, from Ayr. His parents
were members of the Original Secession Church, and at what stage he
changed his connection is not given. Ordained, i6th October 1844. Mr
Campbell died, 2nd August 1848, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and
forty-sixth of his ministry. Shortly before becoming sole pastor Mr Dal-
rymple was called to Wigtown, but he decided not to remove. His stipend
up till then had been only ;^8o, Mr Campbell being allowed ^50, with the
manse ; but there was an advance now, and he entered on possession of the
manse. We have no further notice of Tarbolton till 1876, when the stipend
from the people was ^130, which was raised from other sources to ^190,
besides the manse. At the close of 1892 Mr Dalrymple wished to retire,
the understanding being that he was to be received as an annuitant on the
Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund, and would retain the manse. At this
point a union with the Free Church preaching station, of which the mem-
bership was about 70, was suggested, and the congregation, with that view,
was to delay calling a colleague. But, though this step was strongly
recommended to the Free Church party by their own Presbytery, the great
majority declared against it, and nothing further could be done.
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 337
Fourth Minister. — WiLLlAM MORGAN, M.A., from Old Meldrum. The
membership was 123, and the people were to pay ^100 of the stipend. Mr
Dalrymple died, 12th June 1893, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and
forty-ninth of his ministry. He was a vigorous preacher, says Mr Kirkwood,
and kept closely by the old lines. " He not only visited his people regularly,
but almost to the last catechised them, both old and young, parents and
children alike." It reminds us that Ur Stevenson was the minister of his
youth. Mr Morgan was ordained, 26th July 1893. In the year of the Union
Tarbolton had a membership of 180, and the stipend from the people was
the same as above, with the addition of the manse.
MAUCHLINE (Burgher)
On 5th March 1793 the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow granted sermon to
this place on petition from 47 persons, and supply was continued at intervals
for a year and a half Then at the Synod in September 1794 representa-
tions were brought up from Tarbolton and Cumnock against the attempt
to form a congregation at Mauchline. It carried to grant supply but
recommend the Presbytery to be cautious in giving disjunctions to members
of Tarbolton and Cumnock. Against the former part of this decision Mr
James Hall of Edinburgh, formerly of Cumnock, dissented, as the Court, he
believed, had thereby disabled the two congregations concerned from sup-
porting the gospel, Tarbolton virtually losing by this deed 13 families, and
Cumnock 130 members. These churches, however, were distant from
Mauchline four or five miles, so that it was right they should face whatever
the new erection might involve. The cause progressed, a large proportion
of the membership having come from the parish church owing to an
unpopular settlement, and in 1796 the first place of worship was built,
with accommodation for 600. In the end of that year the people wished
advice as to calling a minister, and were told that they would have first to
make up a roll of membership and have elders ordained. This led to
an accession with 24 names, and in February 1798 a moderation was
granted, the stipend of ^70 to be increased to ^80 as soon as they were
able. This issued in a call to Mr William Irving signed by 63 members,
but he held back with his trial discourses till a rival call came out from
Stranraer (West), which the Presbytery preferred.
A fortnight after this call was issued two commissioners appeared before
the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow with a petition in the name of a great
number of Christian people in Mauchline, Sorn, and other parishes praying
for a hearing of a few of the ministers, as they contemplated putting them-
selves under the Presbytery's inspection, " if circumstances afterwards
answered their present views." This movement, however, found its centre
in Catrinc, and, though it went on for a few years, sermon had to be
discontinued.
First Minister. — John Walker, from Linlithgow (West). Ordained,
17th April 1799. This call was signed by 68 members and 20 adherents.
The Presbytery wished the congregation to add a free house to the stipend
formerly named, but the answer was that they could do nothing more at
present, though willing to exert themselves to meet the Presbytery's views.
In the sermon preached on the occasion of Mr Walker's death he is
described as a man of eminent piety and much gentleness, but the best
testimony to his excellences comes from a wing of his people who were
originating a church at Catrine not long before his death. They testified
"that under the ministry of Mr Walker, and by the blessing of God on his
II. Y
338 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ministry, the congregation has risen from a small and not very cheering
beginning to become a numerous and respectable portion of the Church
of Christ." They, therefore, esteemed him highly in love for his work's sake.
But the time was now approaching when their aged minister would have to
give place to another.
Second Minister. — David Thomas, from Wellington Street, Glasgow.
Ordained as colleague and successor to Mr Walker, 29th July 1835. The
membership at this time was 411, but at the moderation there was not
entire harmony, and, though Mr Thomas had a decided majority over the
other two candidates, 79 members gave in a complaint about undue haste,
and the call was signed by less than half the membership. Each of the
ministers was to have a stipend of £Zo. Mr Walker died, 8th August 1836, in
the seventy-fifth year of his age and thirty-eighth of his ministry. Mr Thomas
was long a prominent figure in the U.P. Synod, having been appointed
Clerk of the Committee on Bills and Overtures the year before the Union of
1847. He died, i8th February 1874, i" the seventy-fourth year of his age
and thirty-ninth of his ministry, leaving a son in the ministry, the Rev.
David Thomas of Howgate, and a son-in-law, the Rev. William Hutton,
then in Moffat, and now in Grange Road, Birkenhead. In the early part of
his ministry the congregation sustained a serious loss through the members
from Catrine being formed into a new congregation. Mainly owing to this
the names on the communion roll numbered only 247 at Mr Thomas' death.
Third Minister.— V^w&O^ Baird, son of the Rev. Hugh Baird, Cumber-
nauld. Ordained, 27th July 1875. On Friday, 30th October 1885, the
present church, with sittings for 439, was opened by Dr Mair of Morning-
side, a son of the congregation. The cost was ^2300, and of this sum the
people had previously subscribed nearly j^iooo, though they only numbered
250 members. Friends contributed over £700, and a grant of ^200 from
the Ferguson Bequest Trustees, with another of ^130 from our own Board,
crowned by an opening collection of fully ^260, enabled them to take
possession of their handsome building free of debt. At the close of 1899
there was a membership of 270, and the stipend from the people was ^175,
besides ^120 contributed for missions.
MAYBOLE (Burgher)
On loth June 1794 a petition for sermon came up to the Burgher Presby-
tery of Glasgow from some people in Maybole, and preachers were ap-
pointed to supply there three successive Sabbaths in July. Two years
before this, according to the Old Statistical History, there were only three
Seceders in the parish, two women and one man, and these were recent
importations. Of the minister in the Established church all we know is
that at the close of his forenoon service one Sabbath in the autumn of 1807
he told his people that, the weather being critical, any of them who chose
might in his opinion devote the afternoon to harvest labour. In April 1796
the Seceders of Maybole applied to the Synod for a grant to assist them in
building their place of worship, and obtained a donation of ^20, the entire
cost being ^400. In March 1797 a formal accession was given in to the
recently-formed Presbytery of Kilmarnock from 24 persons, and they were
followed in August by other 33, making a membership of 57 in all. In
October they applied for a moderation, promising a stipend of ^60, with a
suitable house, and expressing their readiness to augment it as soon as
practicable, both for their own credit and for the comfort of their minister.
In December a session was constituted.
i
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 339
First Mmister.—]PA\YJS, Mather, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars). Mr
Mather being under call to Denny the case had to be decided by the Synod,
who preferred Maybole, and the ordination took place, 17th July 1798. The
call had been signed by 40 members and 124 adherents. In view of a fixed
ministry the people came forward undertaking to provide Mr Mather with a
horse in addition to what had already been engaged for. But discouragements
came in a few years, mainly through Mr Mather's health breaking down, so
that, in order to pay the stipend and provide pulpit supply, donations varying
from ^10 to ^20 were required again and again from the Central Fund, and
their circumstances were described as very distressing. The Presbytery
found,|however, on inquiry into their internal affairs that they were making un-
common exertions, and both Presbytery and Synod seem to have acted gener-
ously towards them on the principle of helping those who help themselves.
Thus there was the moving on from year to year till 181 1, when Mr Mather
wrote the Presbytery that he was to be entirely laid aside for three months.
He died on 24th November of that year, in the fourteenth year of his ministry.
Soon afterwards steps were taken to have the church fitted up with galleries,
to accommodate 555 in all, which indicates that the congregation amidst
their difficulties had neither lost ground rior lost hope.
Second Minister. — THOMAS Struthers, from Abbey Close, Paisley.
Ordained, 14th April 1813. The call was signed by 116 members, a large
increase on the former 40, but the adherents were reduced from 124 to 71,
owing, no doubt, to a large proportion having passed from the outer to the
inner circle. The stipend was now ^100, with a house, and an additional ^5
instead of a horse. After six years of successful labour at Maybole Mr
Struthers was called to Hamilton (now Avon Street), and the Synod in
September 18 19 decided for his translation. After a pause of a year and a
half the congregation called Mr James Tait ; but there was a competing call
from Barrhead, and when the case was under discussion in the Synod
Mr Tait, we read, "stated with modesty his reasons for giving a preference
to Barrhead," and he was accordingly sent thither by a large majority. This
call was signed by 154 in full communion, and 96 others adhered, showing
that the increase under Mr Struthers had been considerable.
Third Minister. — James Thomson, from Mauchline. A prior call from
Glenluce was allowed to drop, and he was ordained, 30th April 1823.
Called to Lauriston, Glasgow (now Erskine Church) in 1829, but after Mr
Thomson was heard, it was agreed without a vote to continue him in May-
bole. A change might have taken him out of harm's way, and been better
both for himself and for his congregation. On 6th August 1833 he demitted
his charge, as it would be inexpedient, he said, to continue longer at Maybole.
At a congregational meeting 50 had voted to end the connection and 35 to
continue it. He had been solemnly rebuked by the Presbytery a few
months before, but the pastoral bond was now dissolved, and he was placed
under suspension. Six months having passed, there was reason to believe
that his good resolutions had stood the test of time, and his brethren,
desiring to befriend him, removed the sentence and restored him to Church
communion. But before notice of this decision was sent off by the Clerk
information came that evil habits had again prevailed, and suspension
passed into deposition. In a few months Mr Thomson lost his wife, the
daughter of a Kirkoswald farmer, and his children were taken under the
care of their mothei-'s family. After this he attempted to keep his footing
as a teacher amidst adverse fortunes. He died at Girvan in 1^37, and a
tombstone in Maybole Churchyard tells where he is buried. The inscription
closes with the word " Resting." Yes ; after the burning pulse-beat has
ceased, and life's fitful fever is over, he sleeps well.
340 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
In June 1834 Maybole congregation called Mr John Lawson. Two other
candidates were proposed, and perhaps for this reason Mr Lawson lingered
in indecision till after the call was set aside. Then notice of acceptance
came, and the Presbytery, at the unanimous wish of the congregation,
agreed to go on with his trials for ordination. However, when they met
again, Mr Lawson had letters forward assigning reasons for preferring a
call from Pitlessie, and Maybole had to begin the work of hearing candi-
dates anew.
Fourth Minis ier. — John Moncrieff Thomson, from Strathaven (First).
Chosen by a decided majority. He had no hesitation in accepting Maybole
in preference to Kilwinning, and on 8th April 1835 he was ordained. There
is reason to fear that the standing of the congregation had suffered towards
the close of the former ministry, and, though the number of callers was almost
the same as before, the stipend of ^100 included everything. In 1836 there
were 296 communicants, of whom about a third were from other parishes,
the greater part by far from Kirkmichael, and the others from Kirkoswald,
Straiton, and Dailly, with a very few from Dalmellington. Nineteen
families came from more than six miles. The second Mr Thomson went
on for seventeen years, and, in the judgment of his co-Presbyters, proved
himself "an able and faithful minister of the gospel." But he may have
found the tides adverse, and on ist November 1852 his resignation was
given in and accepted. He assigned as his chief reason the prospect
he had of bettering his circumstances in another line of life, and the con-
gregation, while expressing their esteem for their minister, believed that it
would be unkind not to acquiesce. He passed to the editorship of the
Glasgow Constitutional, a position which implied literary talent and re-
quired peculiar aptitudes. He eventually held the office of registrar in
one of the districts in Glasgow, and died there on 3rd April 1862, aged fifty-
five. On to the end he remained faithful to the denomination, and for years
his name held its place on the list of Occasional Supply.
At the commencement of this vacancy a small committee of Presbytery
was appointed to advise with the elders and managers, who were finding
themselves in serious difficulties, but the main result was the cutting down
of the communion roll to 129. Fifteen years before this the parish minister
gave 548 of the population, young and old, as belonging to the Secession.
Whence the mighty reduction came is a mystery, even though we take into
account the decline in the weaving trade, which used to be the staple
industry of the place. The funds had also suffered serious decline, so that
the congregation could not undertake more than ^80 of stipend, to which
the Board agreed to add ^20. This matter being adjusted the congregation
called Mr William Fleming in November 1853, who was ordained soon
after to Union Church, Kirkcaldy.
Fifth Minister. — John Carrick, M.A., from Partick (now Newton
Place). Ordained, 12th July 1854, and within a year and a half there was a
membership of 185, and the stipend from the people had risen ^20. This
was followed up by the church debt of ^87 being cleared off, with the aid of
^30 from the Liquidation Board. Maybole now disappeared from the list
of supplemented churches, owing, perhaps, to the generosity of the minister.
In 1867 a manse was built at a cost of ;^7io, of which ^270 came from the
Board. The present church, with 380 sittings, and built at a cost of about
^1800, was opened on Sabbath, 19th December 1880, by Ur Thomson of
Broughton Place, Edinburgh, when the collection amounted to ^91. There
was but a small proportion of debt remaining.
Sixth Minister. — William Thomson, M.A., from Stonehouse. Or-
v^ained, i8th February 1886, as colleague to Mr Carrick, but with the under-
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 341
standing that he was to be responsible for the whole work. The stipend
was to be ^125, Mr Carrick accepting no allowance either from his people or
from the Fund for Aged and Infirm Ministers. On 13th October 1891 he
resigned entirely, the congregation testifying to his long and valuable
services. He then removed to Edinburgh, where he still resides. The
membership at the close of 1899 was 194, and the stipend from the people
^135, with the manse. Next year a hall and other buildings were com-
pleted at a cost of ^800, and opened free of debt, the Board aiding with ;^ioo.
GIRVAN (Burgher)
The Secession cause did not take shape in (jirvan till the second Sabbath
of October 1813, when, in answer to a petition to the Burgher Presbytery of
Kilmarnock for sermon, Mr Walker of Mauchline opened a preaching
station in the place. On 4th April 181 5 a formal accession was received
from 21 persons, and at the ensuing Synod they obtained ^20 to aid them
in building a meeting-house, and a year later other ^20 to finish it. In
July 1 8 16 they brought out a call to the Rev. Andrew Scott of Cambusnethan
signed by 52 members and 165 adherents, but Mr Scott had been ordained
only twelve months before, and the Synod after hearing him decided without
a vote not to translate. The next call was addressed to Mr James Anderson
who wrote them signifying that his mind was made up to accept Dunblane,
and the call was withdrawn. In 1818 they called Mr William Fraser, the
number of adherents on this occasion being 403, but he wrote the Presbytery
intimating, in " dutiful and Christian language," his declinature, which was
accepted, and he was ordained at Stonchouse in 1820. In the beginning of
1819 they fixed on Mr Alexander Waugh, with the promise of ^180 of
stipend, which was ^60 more than before, but at the Synod Miles Lane,
London, carried over all competitors.
First Minister. — Thomas Thomson, from Longridge. Ordained, 8th
November 1820, and died, 28th April 1826, in the thirty-eighth year of his
age and sixth of his ministry.
Second Minister.— K\:¥:)f..\^XiVJ9. Duncan, eldest son of the Rev. Alexander
Duncan, Mid-Calder. Ordained, 16th August 1827. The call was signed
by 120 members, but the stipend promised, instead of being ^120 as at first,
was only ^90. Nine years after this the communicants numbered 205, of
whom fully one-fourth were from the parishes of Colmonell and Kirkoswald.
The stipend was now ^10 higher than before, and of the sittings 336
were let, between 50 and 100 of them to members of the Established
Church. On 31st May 1842 Mr Duncan accepted a call to East Regent
Place, Glasgow. This introduced a vacancy of nearly three years, during
which four unsuccessful calls were issued — the first, which was not har-
monious, to Mr Hugh Darling, afterwards of Stitchel, who remained on the
preachers' list for the time ; the second to Mr Robert T. Jeffrey, M.D., who
preferred Denny ; the third to Mr George Hunter, who preferred Tillicoultry;
and the fourth to their former minister's youngest brother, Mr Robert Dick
Duncan, who preferred Wishart Church, Dundee.
Third Minister. — D.-wiD Sim, from Regent Place, Glasgow, a nephew
of the Rev. David M. Inglis of Stockbridge. Having declined Livery
Street, Bathgate, Mr Sim was ordained at Girvan, 17th April 1845. The
stipend was ^100, as before. On 9th March 1852 Mr Sim accepted a
call to Bradford, where the U.P. congregation, built up by the Rev. Alex-
ander Wallace, had experienced heavy reverses. There Mr Sim laboured
with quiet success for twelve years, and then " when heavy liabilities were
342 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
removed" illness put an arrest upon his work. He died, i6th August 1864,
in the forty-second year of his age and twentieth of his ministry. Bradford
congregation and other friends within the bounds of Lancashire Presbytery
testified their respect to Mr Sim's memory by raising the sum of ^2000 on
behalf of his widow and family.
Fotirth Minister. — John Stillie, from Maybole. Called also to Ramsay,
a vacancy of little account, and ordained at Girvan, 2nd November 1852,
where Mr John More, afterwards of Alloa, had been the opposing candidate.
The stipend was ^i 15, including house rent and expenses. When a pro-
bationer Mr Stillie escaped death by a hair's-breadth. The particulars
have been given by Mr James Skinner in his Autobiography. Referring to
the after fortunes of the packet in which he himself went to Shetland he
says : " One of our preachers intended to sail in her from Aberdeen. F^or
this purpose he went to the station at Glasgow, but was a minute too late.
He took the next train, and arrived in Aberdeen an hour after the packet
had sailed. In losing the train by a minute he saved his life." This
was Mr Stillie, and the vessel was never heard of more. All on board
perished, but he was preserved to labour for thirty-four years in Girvan, and
share in the congregation's welfare. On 25th September 1870 a new church
was opened by Dr MacEwen of Glasgow, with sittings for 450, and built at a
cost of ^1800. The opening collection amounted to ^150. In 1875 ^^
membership was 162, and the stipend was ^180, with a manse. In
1885 Mr Stillie, who had been a distinguished student, especially in Greek,
received the degree of D.D. from Princeton University, and next year,
having given up all pecuniary claims on ^he congregation, he retired from
active duty, and went to reside in Greenock, where he connected himself
with Trinity Church. He had the satisfaction of seeing the whole property
free of debt when he left. He died, 28th November 1893, in the sixty-sixth
year of his age and forty-second of his ministry. In 1895 four Articles
appeared in the U.P. Magazine on John Knox in the first stages of his
reforming career. They revealed thorough acquaintance with the subject,
and were taken from a pile of manuscript Dr Stillie left behind him on his
favourite field of research, the History of the Scottish Reformation.
Fifth Minister. — CHARLES AiKMAN Thom.son, B.D., son of the Rev.
William Thomson, Plantation, Glasgow, and nephew of Dr Logan Aikman.
Ordained, 31st March 1887. The membership at the close of 1899 was 194,
and the stipend from the people ^165, with the manse.
TROON (Burgher)
Up till 1808 Troon was a village of no importance, but at this date it began
to take its place as a seaport on the coast of Ayrshire. The population
increasing, a petition for sermon was presented to the Burgher Presbytery
of Kilmarnock on 29th March 18 14, which was granted at once, and the
upper flat of a rope work was rented and fitted up for public worship. This
was not the earliest beginning, as we find Tarbolton session granting a day's
sermon to Troon in the previous year, in comphance with a petition to that
effect. But preaching was kept up on a very limited scale for years, and,
though the name was now figuring on the list of vacancies, all that the
people asked for in 1817 was sermon every third Sabbath. This opening at
Troon, it occurs to us, might have been turned to better account, the parish
church of Dundonald, to which it belonged, being five miles distant, and the
Secession churches of Ayr and Irvine not nearer than six miles by the road.
But in 1822 matters assumed a more energetic look, and the building of a
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 343
church was proceeded with, to accommodate 300 people, at an outlay of ^320.
In July of the following year the people petitioned to have a session
organised, and this led to the ordination of three elders. But there is
reference now to money embarrassments, and on 6th July 1825 a collapse
was reached, the Presbytery agreeing, after some conversation " respecting
the people of our communion at Troon," that they be admitted into any
congregation to which they may apply on being certified by the elders. A
winding-up of this kind has been described as mysterious, but the explanation
is not far to seek. A licentiate of the Established Church had recently come
upon the ground, and, money burdens pressing, which a grant of ^20 from
the Synod did not greatly lessen, those responsible for the debt on the
building surrendered the place of worship to the new-comers, for which they
drew a rent of ^18. This caused a blank of fourteen years in the history of
the Secession cause in the growing village of Troon.
In this state matters continued till Whitsunday 1839, when a petition
for renewal of sermon was presented to the Presbytery of the bounds from
members of the Secession and other residenters in th^ village of Troon.
The church had been vacated by the removal of the Established congrega-
tion to a more commodious building of their own, and now there was to be
a return to the first possessors on payment of ^200. Supplies being forth-
with appointed this petition was followed up on 21st January 1840- by
another to be congregated. The sessions of Ayr and Irvine offering no
objections, the Presbytery proceeded at once to lay the foundations anew,
and on 12th May it was reported that four elders had been set apart for
office, one of whom, we find, had been a member of the original session.
First Minister. — ^David Forrest, from the village of Broxburn and the
congregation of East Calder. At the moderation Mr Forrest had a decided
majority over Mr Walter Muckersie, but the division of votes may account
for the call being signed by only 59 members and 7 adherents. On 9th
December 1840 the ordination took place, the stipend promised being ^80.
The original church was now their own, the Board having promised
^60 on condition that the building was secured free of debt ; and payment
was reported in 1843. But by this time a new church, with 600 sittings, was
in course of erection, and, the Disruption having now taken place, the older
building was sold to the Free Church congregation. In two years the new
debt contracted, of about ^300, seems to have been cleared off, the Liquida-
tion Board contributing half the sum required. In 1849 there was a member-
ship of 138, and the stipend was ^90, with a supplement of ^10. Some
time afterwards Mr Forrest's health gave way, and in August 185 1 he tendered
the demission of his charge. When the Presbytery met again it was found
that he had sailed for Quebec, and, in compliance with the congregation's
unanimous desire, he was willing to withdraw his resignation, in hopes that
the voyage might restore him. This was not to be, however, and on 13th
April 1852 the pastoral bond had to be dissolved, much to the regret both of
the Presljytery and the people. Next year Mr Forrest's health was so far
restored that he was able to undertake mission work in the district of St
RoUox, Glasgow, and in 1856 he was inducted to the charge of the newly-
formed congregation there. During this vacancy the people called Mr John
More, who preferred Alloa (West).
Second Minister. — JOHN KiRKWOOD, from Wellington Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, 2nd August 1853. The stipend from the people was now ^i 10.
In 1865 a manse was added, the building of which cost ^870, the Board
making a grant of ^200. On the evening of Thursday, nth July 1889, a
new church, with 660 sittings, was opened by the Rev. Dr Taylor of New
York. The entire cost, including an organ, was ^4000, of which the opening
344 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
I
collections of ^444 left only ^170 still to be raised. In 1875 Mr Kirkwood
published a volume on "Troon and Dundonald," which reached a third
edition in 1881. In view of the Union with the Free Church he prepared, at
the request of his co-Presbyters, a historical sketch of " The United Presby-
terians of Ayrshire," which is remarkable for the graceful rapidity with
which it goes over the wide field in continuous narrative, taking in every
congregation with every minister. At the Union the membership was 292,
and the stipend ^240, with the manse.
MUIRKIRK (Antiburgher)
The first application for sermon from Muirkirk was made to the Burgher
Presbytery of Kilmarnock on 3rd September 1799. The prospects of the
Secession in that place never looked brighter than at the very outset, the
petition being signed by 246 persons. But, though services were kept up at
intervals for some .years, there was no progress made, and in the end of
1804 the name disappeared from the records of this Presbytery. At what
time their Antiburgher brethren took up the work we know not, but in the
earliest extant Minutes of that Court, commencing in May 1814, Muirkirk
appears as a preaching station, receiving supply about once a month. On
22nd February 1820 the people asked help from the local Presbytery in
building a place of worship, and after some inquiries it was agreed to
give them all the encouragement in their power. That same day the
Antiburgher Presbytery of Glasgow had a petition from Muirkirk before
them to the same effect, and it seemed to be understood on all hands that
this village of 2500 inhabitants stood greatly in need of evangelical preach-
ing. For twenty years the pulpit of the Established church had been filled
by William Rutherford, whose name figures as the author of a book, entitled
" View of Ancient History." This work, though to a certainty the produc-
tion of Logan of Leith, seems to have secured Rutherford's promotion, and
in this way Muirkirk got a minister of the pronouncedly Moderate school,
giving additional point to a bold statement in the Christian Recorder that,
apart from the Secession, "there is no other place of worship for about ten
miles round in which the gospel is preached."
But the Antiburgher congregation of Auchinleck, nine miles distant, had
a few members from Muirkirk, and these along with some others, making
26 in all, petitioned the Presbytery on 5th August 1820 to be erected into
a congregation. The petition was granted, and at the Union a few weeks
afterwards Muirkirk appears in the list of churches under the inspection of
Kilmarnock Presbytery. On 20th February 1821 three elders were ordained
and a session constituted. But difficulties were now becoming formidable,
and in the beginning of 1822 the Christian Recorder told that building
operations were at a stand. Besides ^20 received from the Synod the
Muirkirk Iron Company had subscribed 50 guineas for the new church,
and by collections and otherwise the sum of ^234 had been raised. But in
securing a foundation large additional expense was incurred, and there now,
it said, " stands the church without door or window, absolutely useless as a
place of worship," and requiring at least other ^450 to reach completion.
The people were spiritless, and the Presbytery told them they would just
have to do as other congregations did in like circumstances — finish the house
with borrowed money. But liberal aid was forthcoming, specially from
Glasgow, and next year the church, with 380 sittings, was taken possession
of, the total cost being ^900.
First Minister. — J AMES Garrett, from Stranraer (Bellevilla), who had
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 345
been previously called to an expiring congregation at Coupar-Angus. Or-
dained, 13th October 1824, the call being signed by 61 members and 35
adherents. The stipend promised was ^80, with expenses. The Presbytery
hoped that an additional sum would be got from the Synod for three years,
but on applying they were told they ought not to have granted a moderation
unless they found the people able to support their minister from their own
resources. However, a grant of ^10 was twice made to the congregation
within a few years. On 5th August 1828 a petition came up from Muirkirk
to the Presbytery for sermon, as their minister had sailed for a foreign
country. There was also a letter forward from Mr Garrett, demitting his
charge on the ground of opposition he had met with and the pecuniary
difficulties of the congregation. But it was also ascertained that a late
servant of his had brought a grave charge against him, and, though the
Presbytery looked on this as probably unfounded, they dissolved the connec-
tion, and also suspended him from office and membership " till Providence
should throw further light on the case." A committee was then appointed
to visit Muirkirk and make investigations, but, though the Minutes they
drew up were read at a subsequent meeting, there is nothing entered as to
the purport. After the case had slumbered for seven years it was partially
revived by a letter from Mr Garrett in Van Uieman's Land, and his successor
at Muirkirk was requested to obtain if possible the attendance of the principal
witness, but Mr Aird was getting in among troubles of his own by this time,
and refused to interfere. In the Almanac list for 1848 the name of James
Garrett appeared as minister of Tamar, in Van Dieman's Land, in connection
with the Church of Scotland, and on that list it remained till 1867, but we
can add nothing more.
Second Minister. — John Aird, from Cumnock. The congregation had
previously called Mr Peter Buchan, afterwards of Holm, Orkney, but when
part of his trials had been delivered he pled to be relieved, as, in his opinion,
the congregation was unable to affijrd him adequate support. Mr Aird's
call was signed by 48 members and 23 adherents, and he was ordained, 29th
May 1832. The stipend promised was only ^65, so that there was some talk
in the Presbytery about turning Muirkirk into a mission station. The young
minister made a most hopeful beginning. The Rev. Peter M earns of Cold-
stream in his History of Muirkirk says : " I can well remember his opening
sermon, which made a great and lasting impression, particularly on the
minds of the young." And again : " It was a great privilege of my early
days to hear so many of his sermons." In 1836 Mr Aird returned the com-
municants at 100, and the number of sittings let at 115, and his own emolu-
ments at j[j\. He conducted two services in winter and three in summer,
the evening services being attended chiefly by members of the Established
Church. On 22nd November of that year ^pro re nata meeting of Presby-
tery was held to deal with a letter of Mr Aird's, containing the demission of
his charge, but, though the Moderator had sent notice both to him and to
the congregation to attend for their interest, no compearance was made.
There had been a serious quarrel between him and Mr Brown of Cumnock,
the minister of his student days, in the conducting of which the Presbytery
found Mr Aird to have been highly blameworthy. At last meeting it was
decided to censure him, but he was not prepared to submit, and here was
the result. The letter bore that his views of Church government had
changed, and he could no longer remain in the Presbyterian connection.
The Presbytery simply took him at his word, and declared him out of fellow-
ship with the United Secession Church.
There are traces now of communications having passed between Mr Aird
and the Congregational minister of Kilmarnock, but nothing followed, and
346 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
at a meeting of Presbytery in March 1837 Mr Aird appeared, regretting the
step he had taken, and requesting readmission. The matter was delayed,
but after admonition he was received into membership, and then restored to
his status as a preacher. For years Mr Aird was like a wandering bird cast
out of its nest. In 1839 the Relief Synod refused his petition for admission
to their communion, because " the necessary credentials from the denomina-
tion with which he had been connected had not been laid on their table."
With the Reformed Presbyterians he was more successful, but, though he
acted for some time as a probationer among them, no settlement offered.
We find next that the Free Church Assembly in 1845 empowered their Com-
mission to decide on an application from the Rev. John Aird, a preacher of
the Reformed Presbyterian Church, to be received into their fellowship, but
nothing followed. He next went over to the Independents, and by his own
showing ministered to a Congregational church in Bootle for four years, when
he left to take possession of some property in Blackburn, West Lothian, and
there he laboured as a missionary for a period of thirteen years. Last of all,
he petitioned the U.P. Synod in 1875 to be recognised as a minister without
a charge, explaining that he had reverted to his original conviction in
favour of Presbyterianism as more in accordance with the New Testament
than Independency. The application was granted, and thus Mr Aird came
back to his starting-point. He died of apoplexy in Edinburgh, 4th October
1877, in his seventy-fourth year, after an illness of two days. Looking over
his zigzag course we think of him as he was in his better days, and recall the
words of Mr Mearns : " I never heard a more earnest and faithful preacher
of the gospel than Mr Aird."
When Mr Aird left Muirkirk the congregation was all but annihilated.
At the first meeting of Presbytery after the church was declared vacant a
paper with six names was received by the Presbytery announcing that all the
other members had left, and, though a few were willing to hear sermon, they
were unable to pay for even the preachers' board. Occasional supply was
all that could be afforded in the circumstances ; but in November 1838 the
location of Mr George Walker was arranged for, and, as his stay was ex-
pected to be prolonged, it was agreed to ordain him as a minister at large.
Accordingly, the service was gone through at Kilmarnock on 31st March
1840, the edict having been previously read at Muirkirk. The membership
at this time was 40, and the people engaged to raise ^45 as their part of the
stipend, the Mission Board being to furnish a like sum. The session having
been broken up a quorum had to be secured by the ordination of two elders
on the fifth Sabbath of September 1839. In October 1842 a letter from
Muirkirk stated the need for sermon there, as Mr Walker had accepted a
call to Johnshaven. There being no pastoral bond to dissolve he had
passed away like a knotless thread. The Rev. Robert Watt, afterwards of
Aberlady, was then located at Muirkirk ; but after twelve months they had a
succession of preachers, and in numbers and resources they continued much
as before. However, in 1846 a member of Presbytery reported reviving
interest, and by-and-by this showed itself in a request for a moderation.
During the first years of the vacancy accessions had been kept back by the
fear that membership might involve liabihty to be prosecuted for arrears of
stipend or for congregational debt, but these fears were got over when both
Mr Aird, the late minister, and Dr Ritchie of Edinburgh, one of the chief
creditors, gave written assurance that no such danger was to be appre-
hended.
Thirci Minister. — David Young, from Auchinleck congregation, but a
native of Catrine. When Mr M'Derment, their minister, became a Pro-
testor this family adhered to him, and hence in 1832 Mr Young entered the
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 347
Original Secession Hall, but in 1834 he joined the United Church as a
student of divinity. After ten years of probationer life he was ordained at
Muirkirk on 21st April 1846. There was less room for increase now, a Free
church having been organised in the place, so that after six years' labour
Mr Young could not report a membership of more than 64, while the stipend
was ^40, with a supplement of ^50. The ground was further encroached
on in 1868 by the formation of an Evangelical Union church. At a former
period there had been an Independent preaching station at Muirkirk, but
it never attained to a stated ministry, and it had for many years ceased to
exist. But James Morison's influence was now widely felt in Ayrshire, and
under this new form the cause was revived, though it was not till after Mr
Young's death that their first minister was ordained. His stay at Muirkirk was
short, and since then he has had five successors. In 1867 a new manse was
built for Mr Young at a cost of ^650, the people raising ^350, and receiving
^300 from the Board. He died, after a few days' illness, on 30th May 1874,
in the seventy-first year of his age and twenty-ninth of his ministry. His
brethren of the Presbytery entered on their records a warm tribute to his
excellences both as a man and a preacher, and Mr Mearns testified : " He has
left a hallowed memory behind him."
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Duncan, from Newington, Edinburgh.
Having preferred Muirkirk to Muirton he was ordained, 9th March 1875,
and on 12th November 1877 he accepted Roxburgh Street Mission Church,
Greenock. Some time after he left the congregation called Mr Charles
Moyes, who became minister at Renfrew.
Fifth Mittistcr. — John Dunda.s, from Dundee (Dudhope Road). Called
to Woodside, Aberdeen, but declined, and was ordained at Muirkirk, 17th
December 1878. • At the close of 1899 there were iio names on the com-
munion roll, and the stipend from the people was ;^8o, with the manse.
CATRINE (United Secession)
C.\TRINE, though in Sorn parish, is only two miles to the south-east of
Mauchline, and the Burgher congregation there used to draw one-fourth
of its membership from that village. But the population having increased
largely towards the end of last century, an attempt was made to form a
Relief church in the place, as has been noticed under the Mauchline
heading, but after going on for several years it came to nothing. In this
state matters continued till 181 5, when 65 persons in and about Catrine
applied to the Burgher Presbytery of Kilmarnock for sermon, but the
sessions of Mauchline and Cumnock and their ministers opposing this,
the applicants judged it improper to press the petition further, and eight
years went past before the movement was resumed. Then on i8th
November 1823 Kilmarnock Presbytery granted supply to Catrine on
petition from 21 members of the mother church at Mauchline. On loth
P"el:)ruary following, this decision was not only confirmed in the face of a
memorial from Mauchline but the petitioners were disjoined and congre-
gated. In August the Presbytery had other two petitions from Catrine for
disjunction to pronounce on, one signed by 33 members of Mauchline con-
gregation, the other by 40. Of these, the prayer of the former was granted,
but the latter document, not having come through the session, was refused.
Two members of Presbytery dissented from the disjoining of the 33, on the
ground that others might follow, reducing Mauchline so much that they
would be unable to fulfil their obligations to their minister. On the last
Sabbath of September 1824 three elders were ordained at Catrine, but
348 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Mauchline session and congregation being deeply dissatisfied with the
proceedings all along, the Presbytery allowed them to bring their complaint
before next Synod. Here a decision was given in their favour, and the
Presbytery were recommended, while endeavouring to propagate the gospel,
to remember the interests of existing congregations. In the early part
of 1826 Catrine people requested the Presbytery to aid them in building
a place of worship, but the answer was that they declined making any
such exertion at present. This refusal may have damped the spirits of the
applicants, so that on 2nd May 1827 they asked to be left without supply for
some time. This proved the winding-up for a period of ten years.
On 14th February 1837 the movement shaped itself into a petition from
104 members of the Secession church in the village of Catrine to be erected
into a congregation. They had got their disjunctions from the sessions of
Mauchline and Cumnock, and these sessions reported to the Presbytery
that they did not object to the granting of the petition. Mr Thomas was
thereupon appointed to preach at Catrine on an early day, and take steps
for having elders elected. Towards the end of 1836, and before the con-
gregation was formed, a place of worship was in course of erection, with 580
sittings. The total cost was to be ;^9oo.
First Minister. — John Young, from Glasgow (Regent Place). Ordained,
1 2th September 1838, after declining a call to Bannockburn. The stipend
was to be ^^loo, with expenses. The call was signed by 144 members and
87 adherents. On the moderation day Mr Young had a decided majority
over Mr William Bruce, afterwards Dr Bruce of Edinburgh. But his
ministry was of short duration, long-continued illness requiring the accept-
ance of his resignation on 23rd May 1843, the congregation judging it
dutiful to acquiesce. On 29th August the Presbytery received a letter from
Mr Young intimating that he felt it his duty to withdraw from the fellowship
of the United Secession, a resolution which the Presbytery reported to the
Synod at its next meeting. He died suddenly in Glasgow on New Year's
Day 1844.
Second Minister. — John Kemp Miller, from Dunbar (West). At the
moderation Mr Miller had a majority of only one over Mr David Laughland,
afterwards of Newarthill. The call, however, was subscribed by 112
members, including almost all the voters, and the ordination took place, 21st
May 1844. The stipend was now ^90, showing that the funds had not
improved during the former ministry. On 3rd February 1846 Mr Miller
tabled his demission, and the Presbytery met again on the 24th to hear
parties and decide on the matter. They found the state of feeling between
the minister and the great proportion of his people to be such as made it
inexpedient that he should continue longer at Catrine ; so, with best wishes
for his usefulness in whatever sphere Providence might place him, they
dissolved the connection. After this Mr Miller went to reside in Edinburgh,
' where he fulfilled occasional appointments, but the latter years of his
life were spent in Dunbar, his native place. He died there, 31st March 1895,
in the eighty-third year of his age. Catrine congregation during this
vacancy called Mr John C. Baxter, who some time after accepted Wishart
Church, Dundee. The call was signed by 131 members.
Third Minister. — ThOiMAS Bowman, from Langholm (North). Ordained
at North Shields, 8th November 1842. In the beginning of 1845 he resigned
his charge owing to protracted illness ; but congregation and Presbytery
were alike unwilling to have the bond dissolved, and the paper of demission
lay on the table month after month. But, there being no prospect of timely
recovery, the resignation was accepted on 8th April of that year. Health
being gradually restored he resumed work, and was called in 1848 to
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 349
Stockton-on-Tees, which he dechned. Inducted to Catrine, 7th June 1849.
The stipend was to be £()o. After other seventeen years of ministerial
labour Mr Bowman's health again failed, and he was loosed from his charge
on 1 2th June 1866, the congregation allowing him ^30 a year, which they
were to pay so long as he required it. In 1867 he settled down with his
family in Dumfries, where he connected himself with Townhead Church, in
which he became an elder, superintended the Sabbath school, and was active
in promoting schemes of benevolence. He died, 22nd June 1882, in the
sixty-seventh year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — James M. Copland, from Glasgow (Caledonia Road),
a brother of the Rev. George Copland, Cathcart Street, Ayr. The stipend
was now ^70, besides the manse, which had been built in the last year of
Mr Bowman's ministry at a cost of ^709, of which ^260 was received from
the Manse Board. Ordained, 26th February 1867, the call being signed by
140 members and 25 adherents. In 1870 Mr Copland was called to Leeds,
but preferred to remain in Catrine. On 26th June 1900 he was entered on
the emeritus list. The membership in the beginning of that year was 141,
and the stipend from the people was ^i 10, with the manse.
PATNA (United Secession)
In the summer of 1830 the Secession Presbytery of Kilmarnock opened a
mission station in the village of Dalmellington, and next October they
arranged also to provide supply for Patna two Sabbaths every month. In
May 1832 it was agreed to have the two places, which are five miles apart,
supplied on alternate Sabbaths, but within a year sermon was confined to
Patna alone. In the Mission Report presented to the Synod in 1835
attention was directed to the spiritual destitution of this place, a preacher
having written regarding it : " There is scarcely another district where I
have obtained equally melancholy accounts of the religious condition of the
people." It may have been in consequence of this that at a subsequent meet-
ing of Presbytery several of the members reported the readiness of their con-
gregations to contribute for more constant supply of preaching at Patna.
The village, with over 200 inhabitants, was six miles distant from the parish
church of Straiton. A few families belonged to the Secession church in
Maybole, but that was seven miles off. By this time, however, arrangements
were being made for the erection of a Chapel of Ease at Patna, which was
opened in 1837. The place where the Secession preachers held service was
described as " a room," and if progress were to be made larger accommo-
dation would have to be provided, and a location secured in view of a settled
ministry.
First Minister. — John Barcl.vy, from Glasgow (now Greyfriars), whose
mother was a daughter of the Rev. John Low of Biggar. In October 1836
it was reported to the Presbytery that Mr Barclay had been officiating for
some time at Patna with great acceptance, and that his continuance was
much desired by the people. A fixed sphere of labour, however humble,
would also be welcomed by himself, as he had been fifteen years among the
wanderings of probationer life. Moreover, having medical skill he possessed
special adaptations for the place. In June 1837 the people petitioned to be
congregated under Mr Barclay's care, which was agreed to on ist August,
and in December 1838 it was announced that three elders had been
ordained. The church was opened in the middle of December by Mr Schaw
pi Ayr, with accommodation for 200, the expense being partially defrayed
350 HISTORY OF U!p. CONGREGATIONS
by a grant of ^50 from the Board, on condition that the congregation
and Presbytery should raise the rest. There was now the wish to have
Mr Barclay ordained, and this was done on 19th August 1840, the call
being signed by 26 members and 26 adherents. Though the building was
only to cost ^200 in all it was not till 1843 that the Presbytery succeeded in
getting the debt cleared off. Mr Barclay's resignation was accepted on
22nd October 1850. This step he took under the consciousness of inability
to labour as the necessities of the place required. He also referred to
inadequacy of support, and the people, while expressing respect and esteem
for their minister, felt themselves unable to make such increase to his income
as would remove his difficulties. In 1853 he applied to the Presbytery for a
certificate of character and standing", as he intended to go abroad. But he
was now beyond threescore, and this step was never taken. He died in
Partick on 8th March 1867, in his seventy-sixth year.
Second Minister. — James M'Fadyen, from Glasgow (Duke Street).
Licensed in April 1837, and removed to Canada in 1843 ^^s a probationer.
Ordained in Rochester, in the United States, on nth October of that year.
The congregation consisted of a handful of people who wished to be con-
nected with the Secession Church of Canada, but the town was too well
occupied by a great variety of sects for the cause to make headway. Mr
M'Fadyen was inducted to Chatham and Tilbury in 1846, and Rochester is
no more heard of. He resigned, and returned to Scotland in 1848, and was
admitted to Patna, 3rd September 185 1, on a call signed by 54 members,
the people undertaking to raise no more than ^30 of the stipend. A manse
was now felt to be a necessity, as Mr M'Fadyen for want of a suitable house
was compelled to reside with his family in Ayr, ten miles distant. Accord-
ingly, an effort was made in 1855 to have this matter put right at a minimum
of expense, the calculation being that a dwelling-house in keeping with the
place might be built at a cost of ^200. Mr Barclay had got over the
difficulty by his own exertions and the liberality of friends, but on leaving
he claimed the house as his own, and got it disposed of for his own behoof.
The blank had now to be filled up, the people contributing ^43, and the
rest having to be obtained from outside aid. Things now moved quietly on
with little to encourage till 1861, when the state of the congregation came
to be investigated, and the result was that Mr M'F'adyen resigned, and his
demission was accepted on 9th December 1862. After having his name on
the preachers' list for three years he settled down in Pollokshaws, where he
was available as Occasional Supply. He was admitted in 1877 to the benefit
of the Fund for Aged and Infirm Ministers, and died, 17th April 1882, in his
seventy-fourth year.
Third Minister. — Jamp:s Patrick, from Kilmarnock (King Street).
Patna had now been treated for three years as a missionary station, and had
Mr John Paterson, afterwards of Whitehill, located among them. He was
succeeded by Mr Patrick, and, tokens of reviving having appeared, he was
ordained, 8th February 1865. The call was signed by 47 members and 29
adherents, and the stipend promised by the people was ^45. Fifteen years
after this there was a membership of 92, and the stipend from the people
was ^67, los. The manse being very limited in dimensions it was enlarged
and improved in 1869 at an outlay of ^^i 13, the Board aiding with a grant of
^50. After labouring on for thirty-three years, during which time he usually
preached at side places in the afternoon and evening of each Sabbath,
Mr Patrick's failing health compelled him to retire from active duty, and he
was enrolled as minister-emeritus on loth January 1899. He now resides in
Edinburgh, and is an elder in Morningside Church.
Fourth Minister. — G. H. DOUGLAS, from East Bank, Hawick. Or-
PRESBYTERY OF KILMARNOCK AND AYR 351
dained, 26th July 1899. The membership at the close of that year was
fully 100, and the stipend from the people was ^80, with the manse.
PRESTWICK (United Presbyterian)
In June 1879 the Extension Committee of Kilmarnock Presbytery brought
in a report to the effect that they deemed it better to delay the opening of a
preaching station in Prestwick till the following summer. But the building
of a hall was meanwhile proceeded with, and on the evening of Sabbath,
25th April 1880, it was opened, the Board having allowed ^100 for the
building and ^{^50 for initial expenses. Regular services were begun on
the first Sabbath of June by Dr John Ker; and Mr David Woodside, student,
now minister of Woodlands Road, Glasgow, entered on Summer Recess
Work soon after. In August the members belonging to the station were
taken under the care of Darlington Place session, and on 13th December
1 88 1 they were congregated. The collections for the year amounted to
nearly ^100. The hall when finished cost ^470, which was reduced to ^135
by the grant from the Home Board, with their own subscriptions and the aid
of friends, the name of Sir Peter Coats standing prominent on the list. A
moderation was now applied for, the membership being 25, and the stipend
promised £7$, which they calculated would be made up from the Ferguson
Bequest Fund and the Church Supplement to .^180, with a share in the
Surplus.
y^Vri-/ Minister. — Archibald Alison, from Leslie (West), where he had
been ordained thirty-three years before. Though wearing beyond the trans-
planting point he was still in full vigour. The callers were few, but the
field was inviting, and there was the prospect of ultimate success. Prestwick
lies two and a half miles north of Ayr, and at that time it had a population
of about 1000, including many members of U.P. churches, particularly
during the summer months. So Mr Alison accepted the call, and was
inducted, 4th July 1882. On Thursday, 5th June 1884, the new church was
opened by Principal Cairns, with sittings for 400, and next year a manse
was added at a cost of ^1486, for which the Board allowed ^225. In May
1892 the congregation intimated to the Presbytery that they had only .1^500
of debt remaining, with five payments of ^25 to the Loan Fund, and if the
latter claim were cancelled they would endeavour to have the whole cleared
off before the end of 1893. The proposal was agreed to, and the entire
burden removed, an achievement fitted to cheer Mr Alison in his declining
years. The shadows were now gathering fast, and in March 1895, after he
he had been laid aside for a time, it was found he would never be able to
resume work again, and a colleague would have to take his place. The
junior minister was to have ^180, inclusive of the grant expected from the
Ferguson trustees, and Mr Alison was to retain the manse.
Second Minister. — ERNEST F. ScOTT, B.A., Oxon., son of the Rev.
Ernest F. Scott, formerly of Towlaw. Mr Scott had gained distinction at
Glasgow University, from which he passed to Oxford on the Snell Founda-
tion. After graduating there he entered our Divinity Hall as a second-year
student. Ordained as colleague to Mr Alison on nth September 1895.
The aged minister, his frame unstrung by paralysis, was still able to some
extent for pastoral work, but he appeared in the pulpit no more. On 29th
June 1899 his jubilee was celebrated, and on 7th March 1900 he died, in the
seventy-fifth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry. His brother, the
Rev. George Alison of Kilbarchan, though his senior by several years, still
survived in a green old age. The membership of Prestwick when Mr Scott
352 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
became sole pastor was 140, and the stipend from the people ^160, to which
the manse has now been added.
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY
KIRKCALDY, BETHELFIELD (Burgher)
On 4th November 1736 the Praying Societies of Kirkcaldy, though not in
formal accession, petitioned the Associate Presbytery for advice about a
matter of Church order. In those days, when multitudes convened from far
distances to commemorate the Lord's death, it was found that due care was
not always taken to keep unfit persons back from sacred territory, and the
matter was brought under the notice of the Presbytery by these Societies.
A committee was appointed "to consider the most proper method of
distributing tokens at communions " ; but no report was ever given, and before
the end of another year a neighbouring minister joined the Associate
Presbytery, and the Seceders of Kirkcaldy placed themselves under his
pastoral care.
First Minister. — Thomas Nairn, son of the Rev. Samuel Nairn of
Errol. Ordained to the parish of Abbotshall, 7th September 17 10. Acceded
to the Associate Presbytery, 12th October 1737. Mr Brown of Haddington
states that Mr Nairn was impelled to take this decisive step by the reading
of the Porteous Act, which came into effect in the preceding August. That
agrees with the reference in the paper he gave in "to ministers proceeding
from evil to worse, even to the profanation of God's day and worship." Mr
Nairn was excluded from the parish church of Abbotshall in October 1740,
and that year a place of worship was built for him, with iioo sittings. His
congregation now consisted of two sections of Seceders — those in Kirkcaldy
parish and those in Abbotshall. But though the two streams met they
refused to mingle, Kirkcaldy people keeping distinct, and claiming an elder-
ship of their own, and it was not till 1742 that a coalescence was effected
between them.
The difference between Mr Nairn and his brethren originated in the
proposal to have the Covenants renewed. The Presbytery had been troubled
years before by a party in Edinburgh, who maintained that the cause of a
Covenanted Reformation ought to be advanced by offensive arms. The
Presbytery in drafting their Act for Covenanting inserted a short paragraph
condemning these dangerous extremes, and upholding the duty of sub-
mission in lawful commands to "the present civil authority over these
nations." In a pamphlet on the subject Mr Nairn states that, when his '
brethren, at a meeting in October 1742, were putting a stigma upon the Old
Dissenters, as denying the duty of subjection to the present government, he
made objections, and offered a formal dissent. He also mentions that
Messrs Alexander Moncrieff and Thomas Mair inclined to have this testi-
mony against the followers of John M'Millan dropped ; but Mr Mair went off
under the plea of illness, and Mr Moncrieff said he would rather vote Approve
than differ from his brethren, and thus Mr Nairn was left alone.
The question between the Associate Presbytery and the Cameronians
was this : Is it consistent with our national Covenants to recognise an un-
covenanted king as having a right to rule over a covenanted land ? The
Old Dissenters maintained that George II. and those in authority under
him wanted the qualifications which magistrates ought to have under our
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY
353
National Covenant, and therefore were not entitled to formal allegiance.
Here the Seceders came in with pleadings from Bible texts, such as : " Let
every soul be subject unto the higher powers," and " Submit yourselves to
every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake." After three long conferences,
one of them lasting from four in the afternoon till midnight, Mr Nairn adhered
to his dissent, and on 3rd February 1743 he declared his secession from the
Associate Presbytery. He then entered into ecclesiastical fellowship with
John M'Millan, a thing of great importance to the Old Dissenters. Up till
then, Mr M'Millan being the only minister they had, there was no way open
for the licensing of students, but now a Presbytery was constituted, and
one preacher after another sent into the field.
In November 1747 the Antiburgher Synod framed a libel against Mr
Nairn for impugning the duty of subjection to the powers that be and for
seceding from their jurisdiction, and, after several scenes of ludicrous con-
fusion he was laid under the sentence of excommunication. What is known
of Mr Nairn's subsequent history can be summed up in a few particulars.
Within two years he deserted the Reformed Presbytery, and Adam Gib
says : " He was under scandal among them," but the quality of the offence is
nowhere given. It can hardly have been flagrant, for in 1751 he was restored
to the ministry of the Established Church, an event commemorated in a
rhyming squib, entitled "News from Abbotshall : the several Times that Mr
Nairn has turned his Coat." In this abusive performance there is no
insinuation of any moral break-down. Mr Nairn died in February 1764.
At the outset a goodly number of Abbotshall congregation kept by Mr
Nairn, and a petition, subscribed by 99 persons, including five elders, was
given in to the Presbytery in his favour. After the other party got possession
of the church his adherents built a little place of worship for him, which
was long afterwards known as the "barn-kirk." Of it the New Statistical
History says: "Till lately there existed a remnant of that old sect the
Cameronians, or Mountaineers as they are sometimes termed. The house,
or rather barn, in which they assembled is now occupied by a handful of
individuals who call themselves 'Christians.' They have no stated pastor."
These so-called Mountaineers were under the little Reformed Presbytery
founded by Hall and Innes in 1752. Mr James Kirkaldy was their
minister forty-four years, but he died, 9th January 1808. Some of the last
representatives of this congregation came up to communicate at Kinness-
wood with a sister remnant so late as 1831, and then the glimmering taper
in that village also went out.
The vacant congregation of Kirkcaldy the year before the Breach was
clamorous for a moderation, but there was persistent delay. The Burgess
Oath question was causing division among them. We find from a pamphlet
by the Rev. John Muckersie of Kinkell, a decided Antiburgher, that he was
called to Kirkcaldy at this troublesome time, but refused to be settled there,
because many of the people differed from him on that controverted subject.
The majority took the Burgher side when the rupture came, and retained
the church, while the minority went away, and formed the Antiburgher
congregation of Pathhead. After a year and a half Kirkcaldy congregation
called the Rev. James Johnston of Dundee, but the Synod refused to sanc-
tion the translation.
Second Minister. — Robert Shirra, from Stirling. Though the call
came out more than a year earlier, he was not ordained till 28th August
1750. There is reason to think he held back in the hope of being called to
his native congregation, and becoming colleague to Ebenezcr Erskine. But
a prophet is not without honour save in his own country, and it may have
been better for him that Kirkcaldy proved his destined field of labour. Mr
II. z
354 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Shirra's eccentric sayings and doings, which l^ecame very marked as he ad-
vanced in years, have obscured our view of his soHd excellences, but his
power as a preacher is attested by the two calls he received in close succes-
sion from Queen Anne Street, Dunfermline, one of the most important
churches in the Burgher connection. Even the titles of the scattered sermons
he published evince how closely he kept to the strengths of Bible truth.
Though the congregation from the beginning of his ministry must have been
large his stipend for the first year was only ^55, 13s. 4d., and there was no
manse till long afterwards. In 1784 it was ^65, and it is doubtful if it ever
rose above ^70, along with ^10 for sacramental expenses.
In the second year of Mr Shirra's ministry a peculiar question was
referred by the session to the Presbytery. Certain members had given
offence by " whitening yarn " on the Lord's day. The process, they said,
required the material to lie upon the bleachfield on Sabbath, and a person
had to be in attendance. The parties were enjoined by the Presbytery to
desist from such a practice. Mr Shirra afterwards reported that he had
talked the matter over with members of Synod, and they were of opinion
that watching the yarn was a breach of the Fourth Commandment. One of
the offenders got baptism for his child about this time, having assured the
session that he had given over the practice complained of; but some were
still dissatisfied, because, though the watching is discontinued, "he suffers
his yarn to lie during the Sabbath on the grass, exposed to the influence of
the heavens." So the question came before the Synod : "Whether the suffer-
ing of yarn to lie on the grass during Sabbath, exposed to the influence of
the heavens, while no servile work is done, or watching to prevent it being
stolen, is a breach of the Fourth Commandment?" The Synod, after long
reasoning, came to no definite finding, but they were generally of opinion
that the practice of bleaching upon the Sabbath day should be forborne,
as it gave offence. The session in wishing to get the Synod's views on the
subject explained that the custom complained of was not peculiar to Kirk-
caldy.
Towards the end of the century feeling arose between Mr Shirra and his
congregation. A large proportion of his people held advanced opinions in
politics, but Mr Shirra was keenly Conservative. It seems, indeed, as if the
French Revolution had disturbed the balance of his judgment, and in his
pulpit discourses the duty of subjection to the civil powers interfered with
the preaching of the gospel. Hence the remark made at a congregational
meeting : " That for some time back the people would have been as much
edified by staying at home and reading the newspapers as by attending
church." In 1797 he also published a pamphlet, entitled "Church and
Civil Government considered," an address to those who call themselves
"The Friends of the People." About the same time he got honourable
mention from the parish minister of Kirkcaldy for not infrequently showing
friendly interest in the Established congregation, making supplication for
them by name in his public prayers. He was also chosen to be chaplain of
a regiment of volunteers, while "the Constitutional Society of Edinburgh
presented him with a splendid Bible in appreciation of his loyalty." As the
per contra his people thought it about time he had a colleague, and with this
view they addressed a call in 1797 to the Rev. John Smart of Stirling signed
by upwards of 500 members, and reasons of transportation were given in
both by Mr Shirra and by the congregation. But Mr Smart was bent
against removing from Stirling, and the Synod gave effect to his wishes.
Another call followed, to Mr Robert Forrest, probationer, but it was signed
by fewer than 100 members, and the Synod appointed him to Saltcoats.
Meanwhile the impression deepened that the right course would be to have
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 355
!VIr Shirra relieved from ministerial duty altogether, and, though he was
averse to this measure, not one moved a finger in favour of having him
retained.
On 19th June 1798 the Presbytery accepted Mr Shirra's demission,
judging "that the continuing of his pastoral relation to the congregation of
Kirkcaldy would no longer answer the ends of edification," while disapprov-
ing of the conduct of the people in insisting that his resignation should be
accepted. But if the parting with their aged minister has an unkindly look
they were liberal towards him in their money arrangements, his retiring
allowance being ^65 a year, which was nearly as much as he had before.
He now went to spend the remainder of his days in Stirling, and after the
Original Burgher Presbytery was formed he joined the large following
they had from Ebenezer Erskine's old congregation. He also published
"The Good Old Way sought out and defended." He died in the full
assurance of faith, 12th September 1803, in the eightieth year of his age and
fifty-fourth of his ministry. In 185 1 the Rev. J. B. Johnston, then of Bethel-
field, published a volume of Mr Shirra's "Remains," with a Memoir.
Another, and a much earlier one, was written by his son-in-law, the Rev.
Thomas Aitchison of Kirkgate, Leith, but it never appeared in print.
Third Minister. — James Law, from Dunfermline (Queen Anne Street).
Ordained, 9th January 1799. In 1804 a manse was built for him at a cost
of .^500, the first the congregation possessed. In 1837 Mr Law gave the
number of communicants as a few units over 800, not much under the half
of these residing in Abbotshall parish, Kirkcaldy and Dysart supplying
nearly as many between them. Most of the remainder were from Kinghorn
and Auchterderran, with a very few from Aberdour, Auchtertool, Kinglassie,
and Wemyss. The minister's stipend was ^130, with ^8 for sacramental
expenses, and a manse and garden. The debt was not given, but it must
have been very considerable, as the new church, which was opened on 13th
November 1831,* cost ^2400, and the burden was not entirely cleared off
till 1875. Of Mr Law himself it is admitted on all hands that he was a man
of robust intellect, with both a mind and a will of his own. Dr John
M'Farlane characterised him as "an incorrigible polemic," and "pugnacious
to a great degree." But in spite of these qualities, which formed a part of
himself even into advanced old age, he never lost the respect and attach-
ment of his people. It appears, however, that after he had been twelve or
thirteen years in Kirkcaldy the congregation suffered loss by the withdrawal
of some 23 heads of families, who applied for sermon to the Original Burgher
Presbytery of the bounds. They complained of "innovations in Doctrine
and Worship contrar>' to the Confession of Faith." If this was an out-
growth of the seed Mr Shirra had sown it was long in appearing above
ground. The party never came to much, although in their first call they
mustered over 100 members, and promised ^90 of stipend, with house rent.
Their minister, the Rev. Thomas Hislop, afterwards of Doune, left them in
1823, having for three years, instead of the sum named, got nothing at all,
and an action before the Court of Session for arrears of stipend brought
him no redress. After a lengthened vacancy another minister was ordained,
and under him the congregation united with the Established Church, but
left at the Disruption, and merged soon after in Kirkcaldy Free Church.
Fourth Minister.— ]OU^ Brovvn John.ston, from Biggar (North), a
nephew of Dr Johnston, Limekilns, on the one side, and of Dr Brown, Broughton
* This is from the Scotsman, and must be correct. In the report of the Com-
missioners on Religious Instruction Mr Law is represented assaying in December
1837 that the church was built fully a year ago. This seems to have misled both Dr
George Brown and Dr M'Kelvie.
3 56 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Place, Edinburgh, on the other. After setting aside culls to Inveraray,
Comrie, and Broughty Ferry, Mr Johnston was ordained at Newcastle, as
colleague to the Rev. James Pringle, on ist October 1845. ^^t the strain
proved too much, and, prostrated by paralysis, he resigned, and was loosed,
4th August 1846. There was gradual recovery, however, and after editing
the Scottish Press for a time he returned to the preachers' list with aug-
mented popularity. A telling sermon of his at that time on "The excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord," I vividly recall, and the effective-
ness with which it was given. Then came calls from Haddington (West),
Kinross (West), and Bethelfield. Of these, the last was accepted, and Mr
Johnston was inducted, 20th February 1850. The congregation agreed to
pay the old minister his full stipend, an arrangement which was scarcely
just to his colleague, who was only to have £,\2o. In 1852 Mr Johnston
was called to Newcastle (Blackett Street), the congregation with which a
considerable number of his former people had connected themselves, but
he declined, and accepted Duke Street, Glasgow, 13th December 1853.
Fifth Minister. — William Reid Thomson, son of the Rev. Alexander
Thomson, Peebles. Called to Perth (North) and Kirkcaldy (Bethelfield) on
successive days. Ordained, nth October 1854. Declined a call to
Edinburgh (St James' Place) in 1856, and a second in more decided terms
in 1857, expressing the wish to have pleadings dispensed with. Mr Law
died, 5th May 1859, in the eighty-fourth year of his age and sixty-first of his
ministry. On 27th August 1861 Bethelfield pulpit fell vacant by Mr
Thomson accepting a call to Regent Place, Glasgow.
Sixth Minister. — Robert Dick Brownlee, from Mid-Calder. Was
called some time before to East Calder. Obtained a majority at Bethelfield
on the moderation day, the other candidates being Mr Alexander Mair
(now Dr Mair of Morningside) and Mr Richard Leitch, now of Newcastle
(Blackett Street). The vote was taken by putting the two candidates last
proposed against each other, throwing out the one, and then taking the final
vote between the remaining two. There was an impression at the time that,
had the election been conducted on our present system, the result might
have been dififerent. But the call was accepted, and the ordination took
place, 25th November 1862. Had Mr Brownlee been settled in a less
laborious sphere at first, he might have had a longer lease of health and a
longer course of usefulness. For thirteen years he bore up under the heavy
burden, but on 30th August 1876 he accepted a call to Bournemouth.
Having caught cold the following winter, when away at his father's funeral,
his labours in his new sphere came speedily to an end, and his resignation
was accepted in 1877. He died, 29th March 1881, in the forty-third year of
his age and nineteenth of his ministry, and was buried in the family resting-
place at East Calder.
During the vacancy arising from Mr Brownlee's translation the congre-
gation called Mr John T. Burton, but he accepted Newmilns, and the Rev.
A. F. Forrest, who declined to remove from Erskine Church, Stirling.
Seventh Minister. — Isaac E. Mar wick, from Loanends, Ireland, where
he had been ordained, 26th March 1872, iDut a native of Eday, Orkney.
Inducted to Bethelfield, 26th February 1878. Died, 31st August 1891, in
the forty-eighth year of his age and twentieth of his ministry. In 1887
Mr Marwick published a well-compacted History of Bethelfield Church, in
connection with the celebration of its ter-jubilee, a little volume to which the
writer owns his obligation.
Eighth Minister. — JOHN MUIR, M.A., from Dairy, Ayrshire. Ordained,
20th April 1892, but owing to family circumstances he was suspended sine
die on nth October of the same year, and the pastoral tie dissolved. In less
I
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 357
than ten days 436 members and 86 adherents of Bethelfield Church petitioned
the Presbytery to restore their late pastor to the exercise of his office with
the least possible delay, and a letter to the same effect was read from him-
self, but after deliberation they decided that, considering all the interests
involved, they could not grant the petition and request. On 13th February
1894 Kirkcaldy Presbytery, with the sanction of the Synod, reponed Mr Muir,
and granted him a certificate of ministerial status on the understanding that
he was to go abroad. Canada was his destination, and in the Assembly list
for 1899 he appears as minister of Grimsby, in Hamilton Presbytery.
Ninth Minister. — David James, B.D., from Galston, where he had been
minister nearly eight years. The congregation had previously given an
unsuccessful call to Mr Robert Russell, who soon after became colleague to
the Rev. George Alison, Kilbarchan. Mr James was inducted, 5th October
1893. The membership at the close of 1899 was about 650, and the stipend
^315, with a manse.
KIRKCALDY, PATHHEAD (Antiburgher)
This congregation arose at the Breach of 1747, and consisted of members
who broke off from the Burgher congregation, and obtained sermon from the
Antiburgher Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline. They l;.id the majority
of the session with them, but the other party had the majority of the
members, and retained the property. They met for fifteen years in an old
barn, which they had fitted up as a place of worship. In 1763 a church was
built, with 795 sittings. The material cost little more than ^100, as the
work was done free of cost by tradesmen belonging to the congregation.
Pathhead, though reckoned a part of Kirkcaldy, is in Dysart parish.
First Minister. — David Wilson, a native of Scotlandwell, in the parish
of Portmoak. Acceded to the Associate Presbytery when a student of
divinity, as his father, an elder in that parish, had done some years before.
Ordained, 7th June 1748, but in February 1750 the Synod decided that he
should be transferred to Bow Lane, London, much against the wishes both
of himself and of his people, but they deferred fixing the time. In August
Kirkcaldy congregation petitioned to have the sentence reversed, and when
a vote to that effect was taken the numbers were equal, and the Moderator
declined to give a casting-vote. It was thereupon declared that this placed
Mr Wilson in the same position as though the call to London had never
come out. At next meeting in February 1751 that was pronounced a mis-
take, and the transportation was still to go on. On ist May the connection
with Kirkcaldy was severed, and the day of Mr Wilson's induction to his
new charge appointed. In the preceding year 163 members of Pathhead
congregation, including sixteen elders, engaged in covenanting.
On 16th July 1 75 1 Edinburgh Presbytery met at Duns, as there were
"extraordinary and obvious difficulties in getting the said admission gone
about in London," the distance being so great. Two representatives of Bow
Lane congregation were present with written authority to act for their con-
stituents. The edict had been duly served in London, and at the close of
the services the two commissioners took their minister by the hand. A
Minute of the induction was then drawn up, which the preacher supplying at
Bow Lane should read from the pulpit, the Sabbath morning on which
Mr Wilson was to enter on his labours. The London call was signed by
only 38 (male) members and 15 adherents, and though there was gradual
increase his congregation was never large, and owing to infirm health he
often required assistance from Scotland. Mr Wilson died, 27th June 1784,
358 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
in the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-seventh of his ministry. A
volume of his sermons was pubhshed, but not till thirty-four years after his
death, with Memoir by his colleague, Dr Jerment. In 1762 Mr Wilson
published, in two volumes, " Palemon's Creed Reviewed," a vindication of
Hervey's "Theron and Aspasio," a book greatly prized in the days of our
fathers. In 1808 the congregation removed from Bow Lane, and took
possession of Oxendon Chapel, which became the meeting-place for the
Antiburgher families in London.
Second Minister. — James Kay, from Adam Gib's congregation, Edin-
burgh. Ordained, 21st November 1752. From among a large variety of
session cases in his time we may cite a particular one to illustrate the
attitude of minister and session towards the Burgess Oath. A member of
the congregation had sworn to obey His Majesty King George and the
Magistrates of the town "in lawful commands"; but, unexceptionable as
the Oath in that form may seem, they held that it could not be safely
taken, because things lawful' in the Magistrates' sense might not be in
accordance with the Word of God. Much is made of the religious clause
as the ground of offence in the Burgess Oath, but it was scarcely possible
to bring that or any Government Oath into a form that would fit the
Antiburgher conscience. Mr Kay died at Broughton, " near Edinburgh," 8th
June 1755, in the third year of his ministry.
From a manuscript journal of Mr Kay's niece, the mother of the Rev.
David Wilson, Balbeggie, we learn the following particulars of his last
illness : — " Being to assist at the celebration of the Lord's Supper at
Abernethy, his appointment was to preach first on the preparation day.
This day being exceeding rainy, his clothes got wet, also his boots full
of water on his journey to the place of worship. The hour appointed being
expired, and himself of a stout, healthy constitution, and fearing no bad
consequence, lest he should detain the work of the day, he -proceeded to
.the church without changing his boots or wet clothes. He was from this
time forward thrown into what is commonly called a galloping consumption,
which in a few months ended in the dissolution of his mortal frame." Mrs
Wilson states that the family were originally from St Monans.
Third Minister. — Thomas Thomson, from Adam Gib's congregation,
Edinburgh. Ordained, 22nd November 1757. During his ministry cove-
nanting was four times engaged in — first in 1759, when 113 entered into the
bond ; then there were 56 in 1764 ; 60 in 1773 ; and 34 in 1780. These and
other important facts in this narrative are taken from " Memorials of
Dunnikier Church, Kirkcaldy," by the Rev. William Fairweather, the present
minister. Of Mr Thomson we have also some particulars from Mrs Wilson's
manuscript. His parents died when he was a child, and Mr Kay's father
adopted him. His inclination was towards the ministry, and her uncle
James, she says, spared no pains in instructing him. She closes thus :
"What was most remarkable in providential procedure, Mr Thomas
Thomson, who a ong with himself, as his brother, was educated and
brought forward to the ministry, was called and ordained pastor of the
same congregation." He died suddenly in the last week of July 1789, and
was buried on the 29th of that month. He was in the thirty-second year of
his ministry, and, according to Mrs Wilson, about the sixtieth year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — James Thomson, the son of his predecessor. Called
to be his father's colleague, but ordained as sole pastor, 19th August 1789.
Died after a lingering illness, 28th March 1801, in the thirty-seventh year
of his age and twelfth of his ministry. Of him it is stated in the Christian
Magazine that "he was much beloved by his brethren in the ministry, and
continued to rise in the affection and esteem of his people."
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 359
Fifth Minister. — THOMAS GRAY, from Haddington (Antiburgher). Or-
dained, 27th June 1802, the stipend to be ^100 in all. In 1820 Mr Gray
was a protestor against the Union with the Burghers, when a large minority,
amounting, we calculate, to about two-fifths of the membership, broke away,
and formed what is now Union Church, Kirkcaldy. Although litigation about
the property was threatened it was happily avoided, Mr Gray's people
retaining the church, which was heavily burdened with debt, and relieving
the other party of all liabilities. Mr Gray, as is stated on his tombstone,
expired suddenly on Sabbath, 2nd July 1837, almost immediately after pro-
nouncing over his people the apostolic benediction. He was in the sixty-
seventh year of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry. Of his family, one
daughter was the wife of Dr Wylie, author of "The History of Protestant-
ism" and other works. His son David became Professor of Natural
Philosophy in Marischal College, Aberdeen. The Rev. David Gray, a
grandson of Mr Gray, came over to the United Presbyterian Church when
a probationer, and was minister at Burra Isles, Shetland, in 1900.
At the close of Mr Gray's ministry the communicants were upwards of 300.
Of those in the habit of attending, three-sevenths were from other parishes —
Kirkcaldy contributing 88, Abbotshall 81, and Kinghorn 29, with a sprinkling
from Markinch, Auchtertool, and other parishes. Eight families were from
more than six miles. The minister's stipend had been raised to.^126, with
expenses. The Rev. James Black, under whom the congregation enjoyed
much prosperity, was ordained, 14th August 1839, and died, loth December
1880, in the sixty-second year of his age and forty-second of his ministry.
In 1852 the congregation by a majority of 40 to 6 went into the Union with
the Free Church. The present minister, the Rev. William Fairweather,
M..A., was ordained on 28th July 1881.
KIRKCALDY, UNION CHURCH (United Secession)
On I2th June 1821 the United Secession Presbytery of Dunfermline re-
ceived a petition for advice from 9 members of the Antiburgher congregation
of Pathhead. They had applied to Mr Gray to call a meeting of session
in reference to the distracted state of the congregation, but he refused, and
they came direct to the Presbytery. This led to the appointment of a com-
mittee to meet with minister and congregation, but as Mr Gray was
already in connection with the Protestor Synod the conference came to
nothing. On loth July the former petition was followed by another from
104 members and 17 adherents for sermon, as they had withdrawn from
Mr Gray's ministry, and meant to keep by the United Church. On the
following Sabbath the Rev. John More of Cairneyhill preached to them,
and this was the beginning of Union congregation, Kirkcaldy, there being
elders among them to form the original session. The place of worship, with
750 sittings, was built in 1822 at a cost of ^1700. In the early part of that
year a moderation was applied for, the stipend promised being .^130, with
communion expenses, and taxes paid. At the Synod in May following
Kirkcaldy sent an unsuccessful call up to Mr James Whyte. A year after-
wards they appeared before the Synod again in competition with other two
congregations for the services of Mr Robert Brown, when Cumnock carried.
Another year and a half passed, and they called Mr William Nicol, but,
believing success to be hopeless, they withdrew, and he became minister
of Jedburgh (Blackfriars). This call was signed by 165 members and 85
adherents.
First Minister. — James Bain, from Kinkell. Ordained, 5th April 1826.
36o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
The stipend was to be ^150 in all. In 1837 the communicants amounted
to 440, whereas the mother congregation at Pathhead had only 300. About
one-third resided in Kirkcaldy parish, another third in Dysart parish, and
the remaining third were from Abbotshall, with a number from Kinghorn
and Wemyss. The stipend was ^160, but there was no manse, and the debt
on the property was much less than half the original cost. On i6th August
1853 Mr Bain's resignation of his charge was accepted. He then emigrated
to Canada, where he became minister of St Andrew's Church, Scarborough,
in connection with the Church of Scotland. He retired from active duty
in 1874, and died at Markham, Ontario, 9th December 1885, in the eighty-
fourth year of his age and sixtieth of his ministry.
Second Minister. — William Fleming, from Hamilton (Auchingramont).
Had previously declined Kirkintilloch and Maybole. At the moderation in
Union Church 71 voted for Mr Fleming and 59 for Mr James Imrie. The
spirit which defeat is apt to wake up on such occasions showed itself in a
petition from 102 members and 55 adherents, who expressed their conviction
that the interests of the congregation required Mr Fleming's call to be laid
aside. But instead of that the Presbytery at once sustained it, and a com-
mittee, appointed with the view of reconciling parties, never met, the opposi-
tion having evidently collapsed. Mr Fleming was ordained, 12th April
1854, the stipend to be .2^^160, and a manse was afterwards added. On 20th
February 1866 he accepted a call to Lothian Road, Edinburgh.
Third Minister. — James Scott, who had been eleven years in Bathgate.
The stipend was ^200, including expenses, and the manse. Inducted, 5th
March 1867, and loosed, 2nd January 1877, on accepting a call to Parlia-
mentary Road, Glasgow (now Bath Street).
Fourth Aliftister. — John Clark, M.A., son of the Rev. John Clark,
Abernethy. Mr Clark had been ordained at Redcar, Yorkshire, on 2nd
July 1874, after declining Victoria Street, Dundee. Inducted to Union
Church, 2nd October 1877. The membership at the close of 1899 was
423, and the stipend ^250, with the manse.
KIRKCALDY, LOUGHBOROUGH ROAD (Extension Church)
In the beginning of 1876 the attention of Kirkcaldy Presbytery was turned
to the subject of Church Extension through an inquiry of the Synod anent
the decrease, or inadequate increase, of Church membership within their
bounds. One explanation they gave in reply was want of proper zeal in
the matter of Church Extension, and this led on to the proposal to have
another congregation in the Kirkcaldy district. Pathhead was first sug-
gested as the most eligible quarter, and then Sinclairtown. This again
narrowed in to the west end of Loughborough Road, a situation which
Dysart session considered an undue encroachment upon their ground.
However, in January 1878 it was reported to the Presbytery that a hall
was in course of erection, and would be ready for use next month. On
4th June 25 Church members with certificates were erected into Lough-
borough Road congregation, and in August a moderation was applied for,
with the promise of ^190. The call, signed by 47 members and 28 ad-
herents, was addressed to Mr Henry Drysdale, now of Mount Florida,
Glasgow, but it was declined.
First Minister. — John C. Baxter, D.D., who had been translated from
Dundee (Wishart Church) to Montreal four years before, but was now back
\ to Scotland. Doubts were expressed as to whether he were eligible, but at
' the Svnod a few weeks afterwards he was readmitted to his former connec-
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 361
tion, and all difficulty was removed. Inducted, 28th May 1879. The new
church was opened on 6th October 1881, with accommodation for 800.
The cost was ^5000, and, the principal supporter having died, minister
and congregation found themselves ere long face to face with overmaster-
ing difficulties. There was gratifying progress for a time, the membership
at the close of 1883 amounting to 244, but as the congregation's liabilities
came to be known, progress was arrested, and then came positive decline.
There was debt on the building amounting to /3000, and aid was urgently
required. The Board came in with a loan of ^500, to be repaid in twenty
half-yearly instalments, but not to begin for five years. In 1888 the Synod
was also appealed to, and this brought a grant of ^500, and a recommenda-
tion of Loughborough congregation to the liberality of the Church. It was
a weary struggle, but by the proceeds of a bazaar, and assistance under the
Debt Liquidation Scheme, the burden became manageable, and gradually
there was growing improvement, though the membership never came much
beyond what it had been in 1883, and the stipend from the people continued
^30 beneath what had been originally named. There was the promise of
better days, but Dr Baxter was now beyond his jubilee, and on loth
April 1900 he retired to the emeritus list. The membership at that time
was about 260, and the stipend from all sources ^200.
KIRKCALDY, VICTORIA ROAD (Extension Church)
On 6th October 1885 the Rev. Benjamin Martin of Leslie, who had been
active in Church Extension work within the bounds, brought up in Kirk-
caldy Presbytery that there was a property in the market which would fit
for an Extension Church at \'ictoria Road, and with their sanction it was
secured at the slight cost of ^450. Of this sum the Board agreed to pay
^150, and they were also to grant ^50 for initial expenses. Sermon was
commenced forthwith, and on ist December a congregation was formed
with a membership of 57. In the course of a year they were prepared to
proceed with a call, and to offer a stipend of ^120. The beginnings of
\'ictoria Road Church were smooth, and the burdens light, compared with
those of Loughborough Road. The place of worship which became theirs
on so easy terms had been built a few years before at an outlay of at least
^iioo. The Rev. Robert Smith, formerly of Dundee, had officiated as
locum tenens to the parish minister for several months, and a number of
his admirers were disappointed when he was not elected to be his suc-
cessor. Another having been inducted they withdrew, and, after wor-
shipping in a hall for a time, built Victoria Road Church, but the cause,
as was to be foreseen, proved a dead failure. To meet a bond of .^450 the
property was advertised for sale, and in this way it came into the possession
of the United Presbyterians.
First Minister. — ALEXANDER Weir, from Sydney Place, Glasgow. Or-
dained, 2 1 St December 1886. The call was signed by 85 members and 71
adherents. In little more than a year it was announced to the Presbytery
that the congregation had added ^30 to the stipend, relieving the Board
to that extent. On 9th December 1890 Mr Weir accepted a call to Coat-
bridge (Dunbeth), and was loosed from his first charge, of which the
membership had now risen to 278.
Second Minister. — George John.STON, translated from Burray, Orkney,
where he had been four years. The stipend from the people was to be ^150.
Inducted, 15th July 1891, and loosed, 23rd Januar)' 1900, on accepting a call
to Cathcart, Glasgow. The membership was now returned at 371.
362
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Third Minister. — John Lewars, M.A., from Lesmahagow, where he
had been ordained in 1895. Inducted to Victoria Road, 12th September
1900. The stipend was then ^250.
BURNTISLAND (Antiburgher)
Mr James Thomson acceded to the Associate Presbytery, 7th June 1738,
and a great part of his congregation went with him. On loth March 1741,
when a committee of Presbytery came to declare the church vacant, the people
made up to them, and said they were happy in their pastor, who had been
with them for twenty-two years, nor could they promise themselves a con-
tinuance of tranquillity if another were intruded upon them. The committee
hearing this retired. It was not till i8th June 1743, as appears from the
congregational records, that Mr Thomson ceased to occupy the old pulpit.
He preached that day from a tent near by on " These are they which follow
the Lamb whithersoever He goeth." He also lifted up a protest against the
many encroachments that were being made on the inheritance of Christ.
That year a church was built, Mr Thomson granting a part of his garden for
the site. This building was renovated in 1846, and ultimately, at least, it
was seated for 700. Of a communion Sabbath there on 12th August 1739 we
have a glimpse in the Caledonian Mercury of the following week : "At the
sacramental occasion at Burntisland last Sunday t'le ministers of the As-
sociate Presbytery came to assist their brother, Mr James Thomson, There
were forty- three double tables in the church, and at each there sat 106 com-
municants." It was computed that there were above 11,000 people present
from all corners of the realm, besides inhabitants of the town and neigh-
bourhood.
First Minister. — James Thomson, from Kinglassie parish. Ordained,
7th May 1 7 19, and was the last oftheeight Secession Fathers to withdraw from
the Establishment. He was called in 1742 to Jedburgh, but "the Presbytery,
considering the present circumstances of Burntisland, laid aside the call."
Regarding Mr Thomson an entry occurs of some interest in a Journal kept
by Mr James Johnstone, the first minister of School Wynd, Dundee. When
a student he heard him preach on a Sabbath evening at Dunfermline com-
munion on "The Valley of Dry Bones." "He was declaiming more than
any minister I ever heard," wrote Mr Johnstone, "against the defections and
sins of the times in which we live." It was a subject on which he and his
brethren had reason to use great plainness of speech, but they went beyond
due limits sometimes. At the Breach of 1747 Mr Thomson went to the
Antiburgher side, but took no leading part. He died in May 1766, in the
eighty-fourth year of his age, and when completing the forty-seventh of his
ministry.
The congregation during the three years' vacancy which followed first
called Mr Robert Young, a probationer, who gave the Courts of the Church
much trouble, and of whom more is given under Elgin, his behaviour favour-
ing the impression that he was scarcely responsible either for his words or
his actions. They next called the Rev. James Russell of Milnathort, but the
Synod refused to translate. During that vacancy, instead of calling con-
gregational meetings, the elders went round their districts when there was
the wish to ascertain whether there was ripeness for a moderation. On one
of these occasions they found that there was a majority of only 6 for going
forward, exclusive of the Session, which consisted of 12 members.
Second Minister. — Richard Jerment, previously of Peebles, where
even his gifts as a preacher made little headway. One congregation after
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 363
another sought to secure his services, and at last the Synod, after much delay,
agreed that he should be translated to Burntisland, where he was inducted,
2 1 St June 1769. From an election of elders in 1771 we can outline the
extent of the congregation. Two were needed for the village of Aberdour,
three miles to the west, and one for the parish ; one for Kirkton ; and one for
the parish and another for the town of Kinghorn, two and three quarter
miles to the east. Mr Jerment died, loth April 1787, in the thirty-second
year of his ministry, and, as the tablet to his memory states, aged sixty-six.
Third Minister.— D win Ross, from Leslie (West). Called also to
Cairneyhill, and ordained at Burntisland, 7th July 1790. The stipend at first
was only ^50, but it rose in 1792 to ^56, in 1800 to ^68, in 1805 to ^84, and
in 1809 to ^90. In 1820 the congregation and its minister went into the
Union with the Burghers, a step which endangered the loss of their church
property, and led to an action in the Court of Session. As already mentioned,
the church was built on the garden ground possessed by the first minister.
In the disposition, dated some years before his death, Mr Thomson made
over the meeting-house and yard to certain persons for the use and behoof
of the congregation, but with this proviso, that if they departed from their
present footing and withdrew from the Associate Presbytery and Synod to
which they now belonged and joined any other Presbytery, whether of the
Established Church or of Dissenters, they should forfeit all right to the said
tenement and yard, which were then to revert to his own nearest heirs. On
this footing a grand-nephew of Mr Thomson came forward in 1823 and
claimed the church property. The plea was that by the Union of 1820 the
congregation had departed from the standing it occupied when the disposition
was made. It was pleaded, on the other hand, that in the Union complained
of there was no original principle abandoned by either Synod, that the Oath
which kept them apart was abolished, or not likely to be longer retained, and
that forbearance on minor points was in accordance with Scripture. The
Lord Ordinary laid on the pursuer the burden of proving that the defenders
had done three things to forfeit their rights — first, that they had departed
from their former footing ; second, that they had departed from the Presby-
tery and Synod to which they formerly belonged ; and third, that they had
joined some other Presbytery. The pursuer's case now fell to pieces, but
the expenses, even to the gaining party, were very considerable. An account
of ^80 came in, and had to be met, and the easiest way, it was thought,
would be for each member to double his ordinary contributions for the
following year. But to aid them in the process the Synod in 1827 allowed
them ;^30, owing to the intimate connection the case had with the pro-
prietary rights of other congregations.
In Noveniber 1835 the congregation called Mr Adam Lind to be their
junior minister, with the promise of ^75, which was raised before another
moderation to ^80, Mr Ross to receive ^60, but a call to Elgin (Moss Street)
supervened, which Mr Lind accepted.
Fourth Minister. — David Grant Crawford, son of the Rev. Robert
Crawford, Elgin (South Street). Ordained as colleague to Mr Ross, 17th
January 1837, the call being signed by 214 members. Mr Ross died, 13th
February 1838, in the seventy-fifth year of his age imd forty-eighth of his
ministry. In the following year Mr Crawford's stipend was ^100, with the
manse. In 1861 he became the victim of a serious ailment, and a colleague
was required.
Fifth Minister. — JOHN Anderson Murray, from Perth (North). Called
previously to Whitehill and East Calder, and ordained at Burntisland, 13th
April 1863. The stipend was to be ^120, and the senior minister's retiring
allowance was ;^8o, with the manse. Owing to some dispute with the choir,
364
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
which showed how great a fire a small spark will kindle, Mr Murray resigned,
and was loosed from his charge, 3rd March 1868. He was admitted to
Kirriemuir (Bank Street) in 1871. Towards the close of Mr Murray's
ministry the manse, which had served its day, was rebuilt at a cost of ^750,
of which ;^200 came from the Manse Board.
Sixth Minister. — James Parlane, M.A., translated from Hawick (now
Orrock Place), where he had been over eleven years. Inducted, i6th
February 1869. Mr Crawford died, 14th September 1876, in the sixty-fourth
year of his age and fortieth of his ministry. The membership at the close of
1899 was about 340, and the stipend ^220, with the manse.
LESLIE, WEST (Antiburgher)
In 1737 and 1738 several Praying Societies acceded at different times to
the Associate Presbytery from the parishes of Leslie, Falkland, and Mark-
inch, and in November 1739 Messrs Alexander Moncrieff and Thomas Mair
observed a Fast at Leslie with the Dissenters in these parishes, along with
those in Portmoak and Kinglassie. In June 1740 the "Correspondence"
applied for a hearing of a certain preacher, and funds were to be provided to
meet expenses by each of the four parishes contributing according to the
number of acceders, and Leslie was fixed on as most " centrical " for the place
of worship. On i8th September 1740 Mr Andrew Clarkson supplied a
Sabbath when he was through assisting Mr Moncrieff at a Fast in the east
of Fife. This was the first probationer they had, and the " Correspondence "'
paid a guinea for his services, besides 17s. for the maintenance of his horse,
and payment for a man and horse going with him to Queensferry. When
lists were made up in the beginning of 1741 with a view to an election of
elders the roll consisted of 36 men in Leslie, 26 in Markinch, 24 in King-
lassie, and 15 in Falkland — being loi in all. Others afterwards came in from
Auchterderran parish. Such was the constitution of the Secession Church
at Leslie, and such its strength in its early beginnings.
To account for the early hold which the Secession obtained in the parish
of Leslie it may be stated that Mr Young, the minister, was accused of
scandalous behaviour, and the Courts of the Established Church were
alleged to have slurred over his offences. Thomas Mair of Orwell, in his
Diary, and before he had seceded, speaks of people from Leslie coming to
him in quest of baptism for their children. In the neighbouring parish of
Kinglassie the minister was the Rev. John Currie, a man of a very different
stamp, and stout in defence of the people's rights both by speech and pen.
When Ebenezer Erskine was in Portmoak the two were close friends, but
when the Secession took place they parted company, and Mr Currie
in his "Essay on Separation" became the bitterest assailant of the Seceding
Fathers. So highly did the General Assembly value his services that in
1 74 1 they voted him ^60 by way of acknowledgment. However, the part
which he took did not prevent a goodly number of his people from casting
in their lot with the acceders in Leslie, Markinch, and Falkland. But
Mr Currie, though he does not appear to advantage at this time, preserved
his Christian character untarnished, and died in 1765, in the ninety-second
year of his age and the sixtieth of his ministry.
In September 1741 a probationer named Thomas Ballantyne preached
two Sabbaths at Leslie, and when the four branches of the congregation
were consulted it was found that Leslie, Markinch, and Falkland had as
one man fixed on him for their minister. Those in Kinglassie, though they
had not met owing to the busy season, would show, it was believed, like
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 365
unanimity. But Mr BaUantyne was already bespoke by the congregation of
Sanquhar, and Leshe had to look for their first minister elsewhere. It is
entered in the congregational records about this time that when sermon
was held within doors " we cannot have access to hear, and with the multi-
tude Ijeing so great the minister's voice cannot reach them." The first
meeting of session was held on 25th March 1742, and of the three elders
two were from Portmoak and one from Leslie. Others were ordained that
day, but particulars are not given.
First Mmister. — John Erskine, son of the Rev. Ralph Erskine, Dun-
fermline. The election took place on ist June 1743, and though 9 or 10
preferred Mr George Murray, afterwards of Lockerbie, the call was very
harmonious, and it was s'lgned by no male members. Ground on which to
build a place of worship cost 1200 merks, or ;^66, 13s. 4d. and the congrega-
tion was to be gone through to ascertain what each one would be willing to give.
Mr Erskine was ordained, 30th May 1744, and he was to receive 300 merks,
or ^16, 13s. 4d., as stipend for the first half-year. In the beginning of 1746
the seating of the church was going on, and those who bore most of the
charges were to have the first choice. The money received for the year
from this source was fully ^50. The pews were to be numbered, with the
prices put on, and heads of families were expected to take seats for
themselves, their wives, and children, but servants might be left to their
own choice.
When the question of the Burgess Oath was brought up at a meeting of
Perth and Dunfermline Presbytery Mr Erskine joined with Mr Brown of
Perth in resisting its introduction, and during the discussions to which the
subject gave rise in the Synod he went along with his father and uncle and
elder brother in favour of forbearance. On the eventful evening when the
Antiburgher members went ofi" he remained, and was present in the Burgher
Synod on the following day. The majority of his session, however, looked
on the Burgess Oath as inconsistent with the Oath of the Covenant. How
far this may have influenced their minister we cannot tell, but after a Sabbath
or two he informed his people from the pulpit that he had gone over to the
Antiburgher views. His father, accordingly, was grieved at next meeting
of Presbytery to see "Johnnie" among the opposing brethren, and when
the members of the Antiburgher Synod, two years afterwards, confessed
their faults one to another, John Erskine acknowledged former engagements
with the party to which his nearest relatives belonged, and was rebuked
for the offence. He had the majority of his congregation with him now,
though a number applied for sermon to the Burgher Presbytery. However,
the saddest part is to follow. At a subsequent meeting of Synod, when it was
resolved to proceed with the sentence of excommunication, he held back,
but next day he desired to have it marked that he concurred with the
resolution. The conflict between natural affection and a mistaken sense
of duty must have been intensified when the Synod in 1750 took up a com-
plaint against the minister of Midholm for having employed Ralph Erskine
to conduct family worship one evening when he was a guest in his manse.
This was like trampling on the Synod's authority and despising the highest
censures of the Church. The culprit proved refractory, and at last he came
under the same sentence as the separating brethren — deposition and ex-
communication.
In the account which Dr MacEwen has given of this affair in his
interesting book on "The Erskines " he has done injustice both to John
Erskine and the Antiburgher Synod. He says : " With a harshness which
was almost savage, John Erskine was appointed to conduct the devotions
of the Synod which carried out the deposition," and "he fulfilled the
366
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
appointment without a word of filial protest." It is true that at the meeting
of that Court in February 1751 John Erskine was* one of three who con-
ducted devotional exercises ; and it was afterwards arranged to meet again
on 30th April, when, if Mr Matthew did not compear, they would go on to the
greater excommunication. On that day Adam Gib, not John Erskine, was
to begin with prayer ; and Mr Matthew's Case having been taken up, it was
resolved to carry out the foresaid sentence on the following day. This
was done accordingly, but John Erskine took no part in the work, as his
absence through indisposition is entered, and he died in Adam Gib's house
on 8th May 1751, after a week's illness. The Synod may have been appre-
hensive that his sudden end might be ascribed to mental excitement, and
hence when they met in August they recorded that it was fever John
Erskine died of. He was in the twenty-ninth year of his age and seventh
of his ministry. He is believed to have been buried in Greyfriars Church-
yard, in ground belonging to the family of Mrs Balderston, his father's half-
sister, but no tombstone bears his name.
Of John Erskine, Ur Jamieson of Edinburgh gave the following account :
— " When a student he fell into such deep concern about his soul as had
almost deprived him of the exercise of his reason. From this he obtained
a gracious deliverance, but in consequence of it he was subject to habitual
pensiveness, and to absence in conversation, although nothing of the kind
appeared in his public ministry." This was written in 1798 in reply to some
strictures of Rowland Hill on Antiburgher narrowness. In the Journal of his
visits to Scotland that great evangelist had brought up the story that the
Synod put the " amputating knife " into the son's hands, and assigned him
the task of intimating the sentence of excommunication against his father.
He also put into print a report that, after acting this unnatural part, John
Erskine sank into a state of languor and depression which shortened his
days. To this Dr Jamieson made answer that John Erskine died of a
violent fever, and that his father visited him in his illness. He also showed
what the Synod minutes attest, that the story of " the amputating knife "
was a pure figment. However, Rowland Hill in a pamphlet which is little
known renewed the charge in an altered form, and affirmed that the son
on his death-bed would not allow his father to pray with him, an allegation
which, I believe, was never contradicted. Indeed, for him to have done
otherwise would have been to fall into the very offence for which the
minister of Midholm was brought to the Synod's bar. This is merely saying
that he was faithful to the dictates of a misguided conscience even in death.
In this sense the tale which Dr MacEwen discredits, that John Erskine,
when he was dying, "refused reconciliation with his loving father," is to be
accepted as true. At the same time, though there was an iron barrier
between them so far as uniting in prayer together was concerned, he no more
believed his father to be an outcast from Christ than he did in early days,
when he knelt under his father's wing at the family altar.
After Mr Erskine's death Leslie congregation remained vacant for six
years. It was a time when preachers were few and competing calls were
many. First, they met with two disappointments — the one in 1752, by the
Synod appointing Mr John Heugh to Stirling, and the other in 1753, by the
same authority appointing Mr John Wilson to Methven. Mr Wilson's
call was signed by 161 (male) members. A third was addressed to Mr
John Robertson, but he was already on trials for ordination at Dalkeith
(Back Street), and while the call was signed by only 52 persons it was
remonstrated against by 79, so that Dalkeith behoved to carry.
Second Minister. — SiMON Dempster, from Milnathort. Ordained, loth
May 1757. In the beginning of Mr Dempster's ministry the session had
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 367
some trouble with members found guilty of going to hear his old minister,
Thomas Mair, who was now in a state of exclusion from the Synod, but
more congenial work followed when the covenant was renewed, and 58
entered into the bond. Then came trouble through the Burgher party
getting formed into a congregation, and putting in for possession of
the property. This, however, belongs rather to the next heading. Mr
Dempster died, 15th April 1799, in the seventy-second year of his age
and forty-second of his ministry. In "The Gospel to the Africans" a
daughter of his comes up as the grandmother of Mrs William Jameson.
She is described as a woman of high spiritual attainment. The Christian
Magazine states that Mr Dempster had been in failing health for two
years ; that the congregation a short time before his death offered him a
colleague, to which he consented ; that he was greatly beloved by his
people, and that they were treating his family with much kindness.
In the early part of this vacancy Leslie people called Mr Robert Muter,
but he obtained a call to the Havannah, the mother church of the Antiburghers
in Glasgow, and when the vote was taken in the Synod between the two
Glasgow carried by a majority of one.
Third Minister.— -ViKWV) Mellis, from Perth (North). Ordained, 9th
February 1802, his minister, the Rev. Alexander Pringle, addressing minister
and people. Resigned on account of bad health some time in the following
year. He then studied medicine, and is said to have practised as a surgeon
in Perth. All we know further of him is from a newspaper announcement
that the Rev. David Mellis, M.D., died at Mundie (his native place), parish
of Aberdalgie, on 27th January 1820.
Fourth Minister. — William Scott, from Dennyloanhead. Ordained,
1 2th March 1805. The minutes of the provincial Synod of Perth show that
he was also called to Balbeggie, but that Court gave Leslie the pre-
ference. Knowing that Mr Scott was ultimately an unyielding upholder of
orthodoxy we did not expect to find that in the early part of his ministry he
was dealt with for alleged heresy. For this remarkable incident we are
mainly indebted to Mrs Wilson's manuscript, referred to under Pathhead,
Kirkcaldy. She tells that he took part in the dispensation of the Lord's
Supper at Leith on 3rd October 1809, and that both on the preparation day
and on the Sabbath evening he vented several things that appeared foreign
to revealed truth. At the table he said : " Who could tell but God through
His almighty power could have strengthened and borne up a mere creature
under all that awful load of divine wrath ?" He never added, she said, that
the sufferings of a mere creature could have no atoning merit. She tells
that Mr Scott was dealt with by judicatories, and reprehended. The case
was certainly taken up by the Presbytery of Edinburgh, and handed over by
them to the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy, but the records of that Court being
blank for fifty years we only know that nothing worse than rebuke or
admonition can have followed.
When James Morison's Case came before the Synod in May 1841 Mr
Scott made a strong speech, declaring that this was a crisis unparalleled in
the history of the Secession Church. A like attitude he consistently main-
tained throughout the whole course of the Atonement Controversy. In 1844
he had a protest and appeal before the Synod against a decision of Cupar
Presbytery, bearing on a letter he had written to the Fife Herald with
charges of heresy against Mr Stewart, the newly-ordained minister of
Kennoway. In dealing with him he had proved obstreperous, and, temper
being in the ascendant, they suspended him on the spot. A committee was
appointed to meet with parties, Dr IJeattie of Glasgow, who had lived on
very friendly terms with Mr Scott when in Leslie, being convener. After
368 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
efforts at adjustment failed Mr Scott came forward with a paper, in which
he expressed regret for some things he had sent to the pubHc press, and
withdrew charges of dishonesty he had brought against his brethren. The
Synod, feehng reheved, cancelled the sentence of suspension, which he had
treated all along as null and void, and annexed Mr Scott to the highly
Calvinistic Presbytery of Perth. But this arrangement only held good for a
year. In May 1845, when the Synod homologated, as he alleged, gross
errors on the Atonement, he gave in his declinature, declaring that he could
not act otherwise if he were to be faithful to his ordination vows. Mr Scott
was accordingly declared to be no longer a minister or member of the
United Secession Church.
The congregation decided at first to keep by their minister, but on 14th
October 1845 a petition for sermon from 42 of their number was laid before
the Presbytery of Perth. The total membership was given at 200. The
Presbytery agreed to recognise the applicants as the First congregation of
Leslie, and Dr Young of Perth preached to them on the following Sabbath.
They had also hopes of securing the property, as the titles bound it very
tightly to the denomination, but it was found that they had lost their hold, as
no member had protested against the congregation's decision to leave the
United Secession Church. Services were continued to this little party month
after month, but as there was another Secession congregation in Leslie the
Synod in May 1846 instructed the Presbytery of Perth to withdraw supply.
The applicants felt much aggrieved, alleging that they had provided their
own funds, and had been a burden to no one, but the decision was wise, and
it wrought well in the end.
Mr Scott after a time entered into Church fellowship with the Rev
William Marshall of Leith, whose case is fully gone into under the proper
heading. By the ordination of Mr Mitchell at Portobello in April 1847 a
third minister was added to the Calvinistic Secession Presbytery, which then
attained its maximum. Messrs Scott and Marshall did not pull comfortably
together, as was testified by Mr Mitchell, and they seem to have got tired of
each other's society. On 28th April 1848 Mr Marshall renounced connection
with the young Presbytery, and on Sabbath, 27th August, partly owing to a
dispute with his session, Mr Scott retired from the ministry. That day, as
we find from the Scotsman^ he intimated from the pulpit that he resigned his
charge, so that the name of this denomination appeared no more in the
clerical Almanac. But Mr Scott's congregation had decreased seriously by
this time, so that of elders and male members there were only 33, and of
female members 69 — making a total of 102. It was a pressing question what
they were to do, and to what quarter they were to look for a minister.
Mr Scott's advice was to seek union with the Original Seceders, and when a
suggestion to that effect was brought before the congregation it was gener-
ally concurred in, so far as the holding up of right hands was concerned.
Thus encouraged, the minister and one of the elders attended a meeting of
the Original Secession Presbytery in Edinburgh, but Mr Scott made a full
statement of his objections to covenanting, and as he had been an out-
spoken Voluntary all along he became satisfied that admission to
ministerial fellowship on his part was hopeless. He now wished a meeting
of the congregation to be held speedily. He believed they would be re-
ceived into the Original Secession Church without being required to acknow-
ledge the descending obligation of the Covenants if they only declared
themselves open to light on the subject. Then, in the event of obtaining a
minister from that denomination, he would join in membership.
On Thursday, 31st August, the congregation met, when 23 male members
attended. The form of a petition to the Original Secession Presbytery was
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 369
read, but when the question was put to present it or not only four voted in
its favour. Then a motion to apply to the United Presbyterian Church was
carried, the scales being now turned, and the same four voting against. The
Clerk then read a letter from Mr Black, the Original Secession minister at
Kirkcaldy, offering sermon on the evening of Sabbath first, but this pro-
posal was not generally acquiesced in. After some delay steps were taken
to have a meeting of Kirkcaldy Presbytery called pro re 7iata^ at which si.x
commissioners were appointed to appear, and on 17th October the report
was brought back that regular sermon was to be supplied, beginning on
Sabbath week. Thus the Calvinistic Secession congregation of Leslie was
back into the old lines again. At this point a proposal for union came from
the sister congregation, but terms acceptable to both sides could not be
arrived at. In a few months a moderation was applied for, and though the
membership was now much reduced, it included a large proportion of
substantial families, and a stipend was promised of .^100, with ^5 for sacra-
mental expenses.
Fifth Minister. — Archibald Alison, from Strathaven (East), a brother
of the Rev. George Alison, Kilbarchan. The call was signed by no more
than 70 members, and while it was in dependence before the Presbytery
another came out to Mr Alison from Largo, but he chose Leslie, and was
ordained, 31st July 1849. There was now a gathering together of the
scattered fragments of Mr Scott's old congregation. For himself, he joined
the membership of the Free Church, but in the course of a few years he
returned to his old place of worship, and to fellowship with his old people.
He died, 6th July i860, in the seventy-seventh year of his age and fifty-sixth
of his ministry. A sermon of his, entitled "The Great Trial of the Faith of
Abraham," appeared in a collection of sermons by Antiburgher ministers
published in 1820. Through his wife, who heired her father, Mr Thomas
Inglis, who was long an elder in the congregation, Mr Scott was proprietor
of Feal estate, in Portmoak parish. But for this substantial backing he
might have been less forward in certain of his ecclesiastical movements.
A manse was built for Mr Alison a few years after his ordination at a
cost of ^800, and on Sabbath, i6th June 1861, a new church was opened by
Dr Eadie, when the collection amounted to ^193. It cost ^1700, and there
are 600 sittings. The debt of ^320 which remained was cleared oflf in 1871,
with the aid of ^120 from the Board. In 1872 Mr Alison, after much hesi-
tancy, declined a call to Baillieston, but on 6th June 1882 he accepted
Prestwick, Ayrshire. The congregation then called Mr W. W. Beveridge,
who preferred Port-Glasgow.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN CULLEN, D.Sc, from Grange Road, Edinburgh.
Having declined St Paul's, Aberdeen, he was ordained at Leslie, nth
September 1883. Loosed, 14th February 1893, o" accepting a call to
Darlington Presbyterian Church, from which he was translated to Greenock
(Union Street) in 1896.
Seventh Minister. — JOSEPH HiBBS, M.A., from Buccleuch Street, Dum-
fries. ■ Ordained, 27th July 1893. Accepted a call to Princes Street, Kil-
marnock, 14th December 1897.
Eighth Minister. — R. G. HUNTER, translated from Eday, Orkney, and
inducted, 13th June 1898. The membership at the close of 1899 was about
260, and the stipend ^200, with a manse.
LESLIE, TRINITY (Burgher)
When Mr John Erskine went over to the Antiburghers most of his people
kept by him. There were some tokens, however, of an opposing minority, such
II. 2 A
370 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
as a member petitioning the Burgher Presbytery of the bounds for baptism.
In August 1748 this Httle party, which included elders to form a session,
petitioned for sermon, and the petition was renewed in the following spring,
and for the next two years they had supply at least once a month on an
average. But by this time the families from about Falkland insisted on
being disjoined from Leslie and annexed to Auchtermuchty, where there
was now a fully organised Burgher congregation. This was agreed to by
the Presbytery in June 1752, "aye and until the people of Falkland, together
with the community of Leslie, be in a case to support the gospel in con-
junction." Next year the families on the east side were also disjoined, and
annexed to Kennoway. It was vain now for the people of Leslie to think of
going on, and the Presbytery granted " the south part of that community
liberty to join with any congregation under this Presbyteiy most convenient
for them." The description applied mainly to Kirkcaldy. Such was the
winding-up of the Burgher cause at Leslie for a period of eight years.
The reviving took place in 1761. On 12th May of that year a petition
from Leslie bore that, since the rupture of the Synod in 1747, they had been in a
very broken situation, and had joined themselves to some of the neighbouring
congregations, but " only till such time as they, in Providence, should be in
case to support the gospel among themselves." Believing that time to have
come they craved the Presbytery to grant them sermon, but the Presbytery
delayed the matter, not having sufficient evidence of ripeness for a dis-
junction. On 28th July there was produced a deed of Kirkcaldy session
disjoining the said people, and it was thereupon agreed to consider them
entitled to supply like other vacancies. It is understood that the Burgher
community at Leslie gained some accessions in 1758 from an unpopular
settlement in the parish church, and this may account for the stand they
now felt themselves prepared to make.
About this time the newly-formed congregation attempted to obtain
possession of the church occupied since the Breach by their Antiburgher
brethren. For this purpose they raised an action in the Court of Session.
What we know to a certainty regarding the case is that the other con-
gregation applied to Ceres session in October 1766 for a contribution, "in
order to defray the expenses in endeavouring to keep the right they had to
the house for public worship." The cause, they said, was at that time in
agitation before the House of Lords. Similarly, in the minutes of Perth
session for February 1767 there is mention made of a petition "from our
friends in LesHe craving some supply in their present circumstances under
the Law Process, wherein they have been involved for five or six years by-
past, and under which they continue to be severely persecuted." We also
find from their own minutes that collections amounting to ^38 were received
from nine sister congregations " to aid in the lawsuit." The interlocutors
are said to have been in favour of the pursuers, but a compromise was
arrived at, and both sides, no doubt, saddled with heavy expenses. The
church which served the Burgher congregation for nearly ninety years had
470 sittings, and was built in 1771. We recall the appearance of the
interior — narrow, with the pulpit on the side, and a gallery at each end ;
while Mr Scott's was similar in construction, but wider, and with a gallery
in one end only. As was common with Secession churches in those days,
both were up narrow lanes, and the walls still remain to tell of what has
been. In 1771 this congregation called Mr James Hamilton, but he was
appointed by the Synod to Dunning, though he was never to be ordained.
First Minister. — JOHN Morton, from the Whitburn division of Bathgate
(Livery Street). Owing to the illness of the minister who was to preside
the moderation did not take place on the day appointed, but the irregularity
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 371
was passed over, and the call sustained. Ordained, i6th September 1772.
The stipend was to be ^^50, and a house. Mr Morton's death was reported
to the Presbytery on 27th December 1803, and he seems to have died
immediately before, as the mort-cloth was paid for, ist January 1804, which
was probably the funeral day. He was in the sixty-second year of his age
and thirty-second of his ministry. A daughter of his was the wife of the
Rev. Archibald Henderson, first of Carlisle and afterwards of St Andrews,
Canada.
The congregation had now a vacancy of four years to pass through,
during which they issued four unsuccessful calls. The first was addressed
to Mr Adam Thomson, but he was also under call to Horndean. Leslie he
decidedly preferred, but, being in London at the time, he wrote his brother
in Leeds to intimate his wishes to the Synod and support them by a speech.
His brother lost the coach at Newcastle, and before he reached Edinburgh
the Synod had appointed Mr Thomson to Horndean. But for this mishap
Leslie might have obtained the man of their choice. A year afterwards
they were on the point of calling Mr Thomson again, as it was known he
refused to accept Horndean, but he wrote that he intended to take Cold-
stream, and procedure was arrested. They now fixed on Mr David Stewart,
who was appointed to the collegiate charge at Stirling. The third they
called was Mr George Brown, but the call was not quite harmonious, and
North Berwick was preferred. It was reported long afterwards in the
locality that after he had supplied in Leslie some of his hearers followed
him to Balgedie, where they got the same discourse, and that on a third
Sabbath they had a similar experience at Kinross, and hence the opposition
which arose. Then came a call, more largely signed than any of the others,
to Mr Alexander Fletcher, but he was sent to be his father's colleague at
Bridge of Teith.
Second Minister. — Alexander O. Beattie, from Ecclefechan. The
call was signed by 197 members, which was 35 fewer than Mr Fletcher had,
and Mr Beattie was ordained, 6th January 1808. The stipend was to be
;^9o, with ^20 for house rent and sacramental expenses. Mr Beattie was
greatly admired by his people, and the congregation assumed a flourishing
look, but in four years he was called to Kincardine, and on 29th April
181 2 he was, in keeping with his own wishes, loosed from Leslie. The
people felt the wrench, and closed the pulpit against a farewell discourse.
Amidst other marks of attachment to their young minister they had built
a manse for him, and already he was leaving them. During this vacancy they
called Mr Proudfoot, afterwards Professor Proudfoot of Canada, but he
was appointed to Pitrodie, and Mr Robert Balmer, but he was appointed
to Berwick.
Third Minister.— ]OU'ii JOHNSTON, from Linlithgow (West). Ordained,
2ist December 1814. During his long ministry in Leslie Mr Johnston was
known as an able and very instructive preacher, his lectures being specially
valued. At the Synod in 1833 he advocated a change in the mode of
dealing with competing calls, and an article of his in the Secession Magazine
on the subject shows that he could wield a vigorous pen. The overture he
supported carried, and the time-honoured system under which Church Courts
decided the destinies of preachers or ministers came to an end. It had its
advantages, but the power it involved was liable to glaring abuses. In
April 1852 Mr Johnston's son William got licence from Kirkcaldy Presby-
tery, and the people, whose attachment to their minister and his family had
always been strong, welcomed the prospect of securing him as his father's
colleague. In September they applied for a moderation, the arrangement
being that the stipend of each should be ^80, and the senior minister should
572 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
possess the manse, which they, no doubt, calculated would avail for both.
Mr Johnston intimated cordial acquiescence, and the moderation took
place on Monday, nth October. The Presbytery met on Monday, the
25th, to sustain the call, and on the following Monday the aged minister's
life course was finished. He died, ist November 1852, in the seventy-first
year of his age and thirty-eighth of his ministiy. One sermon of Mr
Johnston's appeared in print not very long before his death. The text
was : "I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning
star." It was said to have been taken down from his lips when he preached
in Albion Chapel, London, and we still recall some of its graphic intro-
ductory touches, such as John imprisoned "where rocky Patmos rears its
head above the JEgean billows."
Fourth Minister. — William John.ston. Called, as we have seen, to
be his father's colleague, but ordained on 9th March 1853 as his father's
successor. A new church, with sittings for 700, was built in 1859, and the
old building, which had sheltered three generations, was turned in the first
instance into a public hall. The debt of ^290 was met in 1870, with the
aid office from the Board. On loth February 1863 Mr Johnston accepted
a call to Alexandria, Dumbartonshire, but.it may be surmised that he never
again dwelt among his own people as he did during his ten years' ministry
in Leslie.
Fifth Minister. — Benjamin Martin, M.A., from Newington, Edin-
burgh. Ordained, 12th January 1864. In 1872 the old manse was replaced
by another in a more open situation at a cost of some ^600, in addition to
the sum realised by the sale, one-third of the outlay being obtained from
the Manse Building Fund. The membership at the close of 1899 was about
340, and the congregation paid a stipend of ^210, with a m.anse. In 1876
Mr Martin published a volume, entitled " Messiah's Kingdom," which bears
indirectly upon the freedom of the Church from State control, a question
with which his name has long been prominent.
KENNOWAY (Burgher)
On loth July 1750 a body of people in Kennoway represented to the Burgher
Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline that they were in a state of oppression
through the judicatories of the Church obtruding a minister upon them.
After three weeks' delay the Presbytery appointed the observance of a Fast
day at Kennoway, and at a subsequent meeting it was agreed that Mr
Swanston of Kinross should preach to them on the first Sabbath of Sep-
tember. Occasional supply having been continued for nearly a year, a
paper of accession was given in on 2nd July 1751 from a number of the
applicants, and on the 23rd of that month they were recognised as a congrega-
tion. Over against this narrative we have to place the history of the
intrusion complained of. A young man, named Neil Beton, or Bethune,
who had been schoolmaster in Leslie, was presented by the Crown to the
parish church, but the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy decided to grant the
people an open moderation. Their judgment was confirmed by the Synod,
but the Assembly reversed it, allowing no one to be nominated except the
presentee. The call in his favour was joined in by all the principal heritors,
several elders, and about 50 heads of families, and, the Assembly having
ordered the Presbytery to go on at once with the ordination, it took place,
30th August 1750. Prior to this, however, the opposing party had betaken
themselves for relief to the Burgher Presbytery of the bounds. The church
was built soon after ; but eight years passed before a fixed ministry was
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 373
obtained, and during that time, owing to the Hmited supply of preachers, the
people would frequently require to attend at Kirkcaldy, eight miles off.
The Secession, however, had footing much earlier in the parish of
Kennoway. In May 1738 several of the people acceded to the Associate
Presbytery, and Kennoway was one of the parishes from which Ceres drew
its membership. The old session records also show that the elder for that
district gave them trouble after the Breach. His sympathies being evidently
on the Burgher side he held back from covenanting, and expressed dis-
satisfaction with the censures that had been passed on the " separating
brethren." Deputations from the session dealt with him, and he was sum-
moned to answer for himself, but in the end Andrew Marshall became an
elder in the Burgher congregation at Kennoway. In a similar manner those
who left the Established Church in 1750 would have their numbers increased
by the accession of old Seceders in the parish and from round about. It
was well to have stamina of this kind superadded, for they had trying dis-
couragements to face. They first called Mr James Wylie, but he was
already on trials for ordination to a charge in Ireland, and the Synod
decided that that arrangement should stand. They then made two attempts
to obtain placed ministers — first, the Rev. David Telfer, Bridge of Teith ;
and second, the Rev. John M'Ara, Burntshields, but on both occasions
the translation was forbidden. In this way three years were lost.
First Minister. — William Arnot, from Kinross (West). Ordained,
27th December 1758, the call being signed by loi members. He died,
15th November 1786, in the fifty-fourth year of his age and twenty-eighth
of his ministry. The year before his death Mr Arnot published six sermons,
entitled " Harmony of Law and Gospel." The family belonged to Carse-
gower, a farm in Cleish parish, and their name figures in the early records
of the Burgher congregation, Kinross.
Second Minister. — William Kidston, son of the Rev. William Kidston
of Stow, and best known as Dr Kidston of Glasgow. There had been a
large upbuilding under his predecessor, as the call was signed by 321
members, 25 occasional hearers, and 35 young people. The stipend was
to be j^6o, or ^10 more than Mr Arnot had, with manse, garden, and office
houses, besides £b for sacramental expenses. In September 1789 the Synod
appointed Mr Kidston to Kennoway in preference to Hawick and Lanark,
but before the ordination he was called to Campbell Street, Glasgow,
which sisted procedure for the time. The Synod in May 1790 refused to
sustain this belated call, whereupon Mr Kidston craved to be relieved from
Kennoway, a request which was firmly refused, and the Presbytery was
to suspend him in case of non-submission. On this subject Mr Husband
of Dunfermline wrote as follows : — " I am not one of the most zealous for
the interposition of ecclesiastical authority in the last issue with regard
to recusant probationers. At the same time, I am not able to approve of
Mr Kidston's conduct. The congregation of Kennoway is a respectable
one in number, circumstances, and character, and the call is unanimous.
It appears to me, therefore, to be his duty to embrace it." He was at last
induced to comply with the Synod's decision, and his ordination took place,
1 8th August 1790. In the prospect his Professor at Selkirk hoped the
people of Kennoway would entertain no ill-will towards him on account
of his aversion to be settled among them. There is no reason to suppose
that they did ; but in less than a year East Campbell Street renewed their
call, and on 7th September 1791 the Synod agreed to the translation. The
separation from Kennoway occasioned Mr Kidston feelings more painful
by much than he had anticipated.
Third Mim'ster.—ALEXAHTiKR MoRiSON, from Moffat. Ordained, 7th
374 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
August 1792. His ministerial course was brief, and its close romantic.
The Rev. William Eraser of Alloa related in the Calvinistic Secession
Magazine that Mr Morison preached in old Mr Eraser's church at Auchter-
muchty on a Fast day in the following summer from the text : " As many
as I love I rebuke and chasten." He was clad in deep mourning, and he
only said by way of explanation : " It is for a friend." He was to come back
to dine with the officiating ministers on Monday, but instead he left
Kennoway abruptly and for ever. At the congregation's request the
Presbytery kept the door open for his return month after month, but on
nth February 1794 he wrote the Presbytery that he would return to
Scotland no more, but might still be useful in some distant region of
the world. The church was now declared vacant, and at next Synod the two
ministers in London, Dr Waugh and Mr Easton, were commissioned to
deal with Mr Morison. They reported that he refused to be questioned
by them, but he confessed that, after being repeatedly challenged, he had
been drawn in to fight a duel. He was thereupon declared a fugitive from
discipline. Mr Eraser tells how Mr Morison's library remained long in
the manse at Kennoway undisturbed. He afterwards conducted an
Academy in Salisbury, and when a friend met him there many years
afterwards he was living in a genteel house, and had conformed to the
Church of England. His closing years were spent in Moffat, his native
place, and he died there, 29th November 1848, in the seventy-eighth
year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — Donald P'raser, son of the Rev. John Eraser,
Auchtermuchty (East). Ordained, 3rd December 1794, when only twenty-
one years of age. The parish minister at that time was unable for pastoral
work, and the parochial schoolmaster acted as his assistant, having in
general only one service, so that Mr Eraser's ministry was waited on by
many besides his own people. This state of things continued for thirty
years. At the time of the Old Light Controversy the congregation suffered
the loss of about 50 members. It was Mr Eraser's father who introduced
into the Burgher Synod the proposal to have the Eormula modified in
adaptation to growing liberality of opinion. This circumstance may have
helped to turn the attention of Kennoway people to the subject, and theirs
was one of the congregations from which members sent up remonstrances
to the Synod in April 1797 against any such change. When the worst
came Mr Eraser entered in one of his note-books that the party who had
left him got sermon on 30th March 1800 for the first time. The Rev. James
Archibald, a minister from Ireland, who was out of a charge, and not in high
repute, was the preacher who gave them a beginning. This inbreak on the
communion roll must have been considerable, as the call issued by the rival
congregation four years afterwards was subscribed by 96 members.
In 1837 the parish minister, in drawing up the New Statistical History,
entered Mr Eraser's membership at 428, of whom about one-third were
from other parishes. The stipend was ;^i2o, with house and g^arden. The
Original Burgher congregation was vacant at the time. They had been
very unfortunate in their first minister, and their membership was under
200. Their stipend was ^75, with a manse and garden, and during the
thirty-seven years of their existence they had been eighteen without a
minister. In 1839 they held back from Union with the Establishment, and
in 1845 they merged in what is now the Eree Church congregation, and
their place of worship was sold, but the price received did not clear the
debt. The disruption of 1800 entailed on them long years of struggle, and
divided the resources of what would otherwise have been a strong country
congregation. In 1831 Mr Eraser published his Life of Ebenezer Erskine,
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 375
which was well received, and brought him the degree of D.D. from
Jefferson College, Pennsylvania, in 1833. This was followed by the Life
of Ralph Erskine, his great-grandfather, and the two books fill a very
important place in our denominational literature. The author died, 28th
December 1841, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and forty-eighth of his
ministry. He had been partially laid aside by illness, and when Cupar
Presbytery met that day they received the unexpected intelligence of his
death. An interesting Memoir of Dr Fraser, from the pen of his brother
William in Alloa, appeared in four numbers of the United Secession
Magazine for 1842.
In addition to the Lives of the Erskines Dr Fraser wrote a Memoir of his
father, which is prefixed to a volume of his Essays and Sermons. He also
contributed largely to the denominational magazines of his time. But,
while deeply interested in everything connected with the Secession Church,
Dr Eraser's sympathies did not go fully along with the Voluntary Con-
troversy, as he made known in his Life of Ebenezer Erskine. This is the
more remarkable, as in student and preacher days he took up New Light
ground, and declined to accept licence unless allowed to take the questions
of the Formula with explanations. But as he advanced in life he may have
become more conservative. He drew back at least from pronouncing Civil
Establishments of Religion in every case " unscriptural, impolitic, and
unjust."
Fifth Minister. — Alex.a.nder Stewart, from Stitchel. Called pre-
viously to Lilliesleaf, but not with unanimity. The call to Kennoway was
signed by 212 members, and the stipend was ^100, with manse and garden.
Ordained, 26th April 1843. ^^ was a time when there was the fear of
Morisonian doctrine getting into Secession pulpits, and to test Mr Stewart's
soundness in the faith he had trial discourses assigned him on the texts :
" That he by the grace of God should taste death for every man " ; and
"Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." He was
also to give an exercise on the question: "Are there different kinds of
faith?" Mr Stewart in his treatment of these subjects did not come up
to the Calvinistic standard of the Rev. William Scott of Leslie, who dis-
sented from the sustaining of his trials. On the ordination day, when the
edict was returned, he also came forward as an objector, but it was ruled
that the edict was addressed only to members of the congregation, and that
Mr Scott had not the standing required. The services accordingly
proceeded, but Mr Scott was away. He next went to the Fife Herald w'lih
his complaints, which involved charges of heresy against the young minister
of Kennoway, and the case, as we have seen already, came before the Synod
in May 1844. There Mr Scott professed himself satisfied that Mr Stewart
had not taught the erroneous doctrines alleged, and admitted that he had
erred in the course followed, and the Synod rested in this acknowledgment.
As for Mr Stewart, though he did not consider the deliverance such as he
was entitled to, he acquiesced in it, and desired "to regard the whole
unhappy affair as though it had never been." But he was not in robust
health, and this "unhappy affair" was not fitted to do him good. He died,
8th December 1846, in the twenty-eighth year of his age and fourth of
his ministry.
The congregation now called Mr Robert Russell, but another call from
Rattray was out already, and there were indications at the time that it was
to get the preference.
Sixth Minister. — DANIEL DOUGLAS, from Earlston (East). Called to
West Linton some time before, and ordained at Kennoway, 26th April 1848.
The church, which had stood for a hundred and twenty years, was extensively
376 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
repaired in 1872, and it is still serving its day and generation. Shortly
afterwards the manse was similarly improved at a cost of ^208, of which the
Board paid ^120. In 1888 Mr Douglas, at the close of a forty years'
ministry, prepared to give place to a colleague.
Seventh Minister. — James Campbell Boyd, M.A., from Helensburgh.
Ordained, 12th March 1889, the senior minister surrendering the manse and
all share in the emoluments. Mr Douglas soon afterwards retired to Gatton-
side, his native locality, and was living there at the time of the recent Union.
The membership at the close of 1899 was 180, and the stipend from the
people ^125, with the manse.
COLINSBURGH (Relief)
This village, in Kilconquhar parish, derives importance as the place where
the Presbytery of Relief was first constituted. The congregation originated
in the translation of Dr John Chalmers from the neighbouring parish of Elie.
The settlement was strongly resisted, but the Assembly ordered it to go
on, and Dr Chalmers was inducted on 19th June 1760. The great body of
the people, headed by the entire session except one, now set about building
a meeting-house at Colinsburgh, about a mile from the parish church. P"or
a time they were in an isolated state, not inclining, it is evident, to apply for
sermon to either the Burgher or Antiburgher Presbytery of the bounds. At
last Mr Gillespie, who was also out of all ecclesiastical connection, preached
a day at Colinsburgh, and by his advice the people drew up an invitation to
the Rev. Thomas Scott, a dissenting minister at Hexham, to settle among
them. But the church was large, being seated for 850, and the congregation
numerous, so that Mr Scott, on the ground of defective health, drew back
from so weighty a charge. He was afterwards settled at Auchtermuchty.
First Minister. — Thomas Colier, a native of Fife, according to David
Gellatly, and previously minister of a dissenting church at Ravenstonedale,
Westmoreland. Mr Colier had preached two Sabbaths at Colinsburgh, and
then a call was made out for him, "and harmoniously subscribed by the
elders and many hundreds of people in a public manner before witnesses."
On 22nd October 1761 the Rev. Thomas Gillespie from Dunfermline and the
Rev. Thomas Boston from Jedburgh inducted Mr Colier to be minister " of
this great and numerous congregation," and after the service the three
ministers, with an elder from each of their sessions, constituted themselves
into the Presbytery of Relief. In 1764 Mr Colier was laid aside for a
lengthened period by illness, and his place was filled by a probationer named
Reikie, on whom a note may be expended.* In July 1768 the Presbytery
* Patrick Reikie appears in the Secession records of 1746 as a student of Phil-
osophy. In April 1748 the Antiburgher Synod recommended the Presbytery of
Edinburgh to take him on trials for licence, but nothing followed. He reappears
thirteen years afterwards as a Cameronian probationer. He had got licence from
the Reformed Presbytery before the Breach of 1752, when he went with the smaller
party, led by Hall of Edinburgh and Innes of Glasgow, but his ecclesiasiical connec-
tion did not prevent him occupying Colinsburgh pulpit at this time as a preacher at
large. On 14th November 1765 he was ordained over the Societies in Ireland — "all
])oor people, and in number not above 12 families, and far dispersed " — but he never
entered on this field of labour at all. He wished to succeed the Rev. Hugh Innes of
the Calton Church, Glasgow, the meeting-house which ultimately passed into the
possession of the Relief. He pleaded that, as he was now " turned in years," it would
be very prejudicial to his health to go where he behoved to preach in the open air,
but the Presbytery, he alleged, were bent on preventing him being settled in Scotland.
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 377
recommended the seeking out of a proper person to be Mr Colier^s assistant,
as the congregation was suffenng through his valetudinary state. What
progress was made does not appear, but "Mr Coher's distress," as the
session mmutes^ relate, continued till it pleased the Lord to remove him on
Master" '"^ ^^"^'^^ ^"^ ^'^ ^"^^ " ^° ^^^ glorious presence of his
The state of the congregation at this time we have the means of outlining
and also their money arrangements. The stipend was ^60, and a few weeks
betore Mr Coliers ordination they bought a house, and some garden ground
for a manse, at the cost of ^31, with ^15 for repairs. Among contributions
tor the building fund and other things there is mention of ^5, 18s. from
Largo parish, ^4, i6s. from Newburn parish, and ^i, us. from St Andrews
parish, and when elders came to be chosen the wants of Earlsferry and
bt Monans had to be considered. But the formation of a Relief Church at
Largo soon after Mr Coher's death must have narrowed in Colinsburgh on
the west side, and the formation of Pittenweem some years later must have
had a similar effect to the east. Still, throughout Mr Colier's ministry the
communion roll continued large, and the church is said to have been often
inconveniently crowded.
Secotid Mims/er.—]AUES Cowan, a native of the parish of Stow. As his
brother Robert studied in the Antiburgher connection,* and the father is certi-
fied to have been a Secession elder, we are left to infer that the family belonged
to the Antiburgher congregation of Lauder. If so, James' early upbringing
may account for his aversion to the Relief principle of Free Communion
Having completed his theological course at Edinburgh University he was
licensed by the Newcastle Presbytery of Protestant Dissenters in the early
part of 1770, and to him Colinsburgh people turned in quest of a successor
to Mr Coher. On Saturday, loth March 1770, they received notice that " a
young man lately come from England was to preach in Newburn Church
to-morrow,'' but his name was to be kept concealed until it was known how
they were satisfied with him. On the following Monday he was told that
to all appearance he would be the people's choice. A moderation was
obtained for 22nd April, and the call was signed by 430 communicants, no
other candidate being proposed. But a majority of the Presbytery refused
At last they libelled him for neglecting his congregation, for setting up a separate
meeting m Gla<;gow, and for defaming his superiors. It ended in his deposition on
5th November 1766. Next year the Presbytery published a narrative of the case,
which he and his friends met with a pamphlet, entitled "A loud Cry ; or, Groans of
ihe^ppressed." With this we lose sight of Mr Partick Reikie.
* Robert Cowan was appointed to be taken on trials for licence by the Anti-
burgher Presbytery of Earlston in April 1765, with a view to service in America,
but he wrote the Synod in September refusing to go. His case was remitted to the
1 resbytery, who were to deprive him of licence if he persisted. This contest with
his superiors was got over, and he settled down for years in probationer life at home
Hut towards the close of 177 1 he ceased to fulfil his appointments, and Earlston
I resbytery learned that he was preaching under the inspection of the Presbvtery of
Keiief, though the change of connection appears to have brought him no nearer a
hxed charge. What follows is taken from M'Kenzie's History of Newcastle, which
though inaccurate m dates, may be treated as substantially correct. Mr Robert Cowan
was ordained over Wall Knoll dissenting church in 1775, and died in July 180?
aged sixty-nine. He is described as an excellent linguist and a man of simple
manners and blameless life, but destitute of popular talents, so that his congregation
dwindled away, and for many years he received no stipend at all. This was the
brother of the Rev. James Cowan of Colinsburgh, and as such his name comes ud
repeatedly m these pages. Dr George; Brown has confounded the two brothers
making them only one, and Dr Blair has fallen into the same error. '
378 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to concur in the call, though Colinsburgh congregation was to be free to
employ Mr Cowan for the time. In this state matters continued, and one
or more commissioners appeared at successive meetings of Presbytery
in prosecution of the call. It was irksome work, a journey to Glasgow on
one occasion obliging one of their leading men to be a whole week from
home, and the cost to the congregation being ^2, los. The ordination took
place, 25th July 1771, when Mr Cruden of Glasgow preached, and the only
other ministers who took part were Messrs Gillespie of Dunfermline and
Scott of Auchtermuchty. The expenses incurred by the company and their
horses amounted to nearly ^7. Mr Cowan's stipend was to be the same
as his predecessor had — ^15 per quarter, and a house.
It was the circumstances connected with the settlement at Colinsburgh,
taken along with a converse case at Blairlogie, which led to a virtual
disruption in the Relief Presbytery. {See vol. i. p. 708.)
After the two parties had held separate meetings for about a year an
attempt was made in May 1772 to reach an agreement so far as to constitute
themselves into a Synod. It was then that Mr Cowan brought up the
question of Free Communion. He wished to know whether they were to
admit to the Lord's Table such as were unsound in the essentials of the
Christian faith, as shown particularly by their publications to the world.
This was Alexander Pirie, sure enough, and it was the reopening of an old
wound. But there was unanimity in replying that their principles did not
allow them to hold communion with such. Then it carried by a majority that
they were free to hold communion with visible saints, though these should be
of the Episcopal or Independent persuasion, and at the meeting in 1773
this decision was confii-med. Henceforth Mr Cowan and the majority of
his people were out of connection with the Relief Church, and ranged under
the banner of close denominational communion. But all was not harmony
among themselves. In June 1773 an elder was put out of his seat in the
session for venting Free Communion principles, but "'his party, according to
the best information, did not exceed 10 persons." A fortnight after this
three representatives of the Synod were to visit Colinsburgh, but thirteen
elders and four managers signed the paper forbidding them to enter the
church, and to make this resolution effective all the doors and windows were
fastened within, so that the attempt to have matters adjusted failed. But
before many weeks had passed it was entered in the records that "some
seats in the church are empty by reason of the former possessors deserting
them." To a certainty Colinsburgh congregation was now on the slopes of
decline. At the Synod in May 1775 Mr Cowan did not compear according
to summons, and he was declared out of connection.
During the next twenty years he stood alone, though on communion
occasions he got assistance from his brother Robert, and certain other
ministers, most of them seemingly in a nondescript state. Among these we
may name Messrs Crookshanks and Blyth from England, Mr John Brodie
from Aberdeen, whom Mr Cowan had ordained over the Shiprow congrega-
tion, and Mr Reid from Portsoy or Findhorn. The expenses in bringing
assistance from such distances were heavy, Robert Cowan again and again
receiving the sum of ^3 or ^3, los. This state of isolation continued till
1794, when Mr David Gellatly identified himself with Mr Cowan, as is
related under Haddington, Relief. Mr Cowan died, 15th April I795» in the
fifty-seventh year of his age and twenty-fourth of his ministry. In the
session minutes he is described as "in the pulpit an able minister of the
New Testament, in private a warm friend ; in the course of his labours
severely persecuted by his enemies, yet as warmly beloved by his friends."
The persecution spoken of may refer specially to reports which had been in
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 379
circulation for years affecting his reputation for sobriety. Right or wrong,
this led a party, headed by one who had been Mr Cowan's right-hand man
from the beginning, to withdraw from his ministry. Hence the origin of
what we shall call the New Relief Church at Colinsburgh.
During the vacancy supplies had to be drawn from very narrow limits.
The two ministers of what passed for a Presbytery were Messrs Gellatly of
Haddington and Fraser of Lady Lawson's Wynd, Edinburgh, but the pulpit
was chiefly occupied by Mr John Paton, a preacher of theirs who is described
as " at large in Edinburgh." After labouring among them for some months he
accepted their call, and was ordained at Colinsburgh, 17th March 1796. The
stipend was the same as it had been from the very beginning — ^15 a quarter,
but within a few years ^20 is the sum named. The membership seems as
yet to have kept up fairly well, for a congregational meeting shortly after Mr
Cowan's death showed 134 men present. There was a law process going
on about the rights of the meeting-house, and in defending the action there
are traces of sums paid amounting to over ^50. In the general confusion
there was likely to be loss in other ways, and the parish minister of Newburn
could at least boast that one of the elders had returned to the Established
Church. Mr Paton qualified as an M.D. of St Andrews in 1802, and in
October 1803 he removed to Shiprow Church, Aberdeen, which, like Colins-
burgh, was outside the Relief Synod.
The congregation now entered on a slowly dying process. The minister
they obtained was Alexander Scott, of whom we only know that he had been
one of Haldane's missionaries, and from a pamphlet of his own it appears that
he came from the North, and in 1798 was stationed at Cove-of-Nigg. An
Edinburgh newspaper announced in August 1804 Mr Scott's call from
Strichen to Colinsburgh. In 1837 the minister reported an average attend-
ance of 50 in summer and 30 in winter. His stipend was about ^12 a year,
and he had a manse and two gardens. The seats brought in ^5 annually,
and the collections, amounting to 2s. 6d. or 3s. each Sunday, were handed
over to the minister. The place of worship was getting very dilapidated ; but
it remained as aforetime with accommodation for 850. Mr Scott died
suddenly, 28th July 1842, aged seventy-seven, while the Relief Presbytery of
Dysart was negotiating with him for the purchase of the old building.
Thus ended the once large and far-gathered Relief congregation of Colins-
burgh, except in so far as it had transferred its existence to the rival church
in the village.
During the greater part of his ministry Mr Scott seems to have had no
fixed denominational connection. He fraternised, however, with the Rev.
David Amot of Kinnesswood, one of the last representatives of the Camer-
onian Presbytery, which at one time had four or five congregations under its
inspection. The two assisted each other at communion times, and the tent
services at Kinnesswood drew considerable audiences. On these occasions
Mr Scott dealt in oratory of the homespun kind. Mr Duncan from Den-
holm, a teacher of John Leyden's, and Mr Kirkaldy from Kirkcaldy,
occasionally officiated, and twice at least those present constituted them-
selves into a Presbytery, Mr Scott being one of the members.
COLINSBURGH (New Relief)
In 1790 Mr Cowan and his people applied to the Relief Synod for admission,
but though that Court was willing to receive the congregation the door
was shut against the minister, there being unfavourable reports abroad con-
cerning him. The same circumstance accounts for the setting up of an
38o
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
opposition charge by a minority of his people. The law process, already
referred to, followed for possession of the property. The decision turned on
which party had the larger number of original subscribers and their heirs,
and it was found that 34 of these were with the pursuers and only 22 with
the defenders. This gave the church to the party adhering to the Relief
Synod, but by this time they had built a church for themselves, and nothing
more was done. The East Church, as it was called, accommodated 300
worshippers, and as it was cheaply built the debt resting on it was trifling.
First Minister. — John Jamieson, from St Ninians. Ordained, i8th
June 1800. But from the first the congregation was to suffer from premature
translations. Mr Jamieson was scarcely settled down at Colinsburgh when
a movement was set agoing to have him transferred to Bellshill, and through
much contention and partial disruption the object was accomplished, and on
29th July 1802 he was inducted there.
Seco?id Minister. — William Reid, who had been loosed from Hadding-
ton three years before. Inducted, 27th July 1803. The call was signed by
135 members, and the stipend promised was ^80, with a suitable house and
a garden. Mr Reid died, 7th September 1809, in the forty-first year of his
age and fourteenth of his ministry.
Third Minister. — David Russell, from Tollcross, Glasgow. Brought
up in the Established Church, but took licence from the Relief, and was
ordained at Colinsburgh, 5th February 1811. The membership was put
down at 200, and the stipend was to be increased £/^ for every addition of 20
to the membership. On 3rd December of the following year Mr Russell
accepted a call to the newly-formed congregation of Hawick (Allars).
Fourth Minister. — James Turnbull, from Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
Called also to Pittenweem, but preferred Colinsburgh, where he was ordained,
28th September 18 13. Loosed, 30th May 1820, to be inducted into Calton,
Glasgow, where troubles awaited him. Before he left Colinsburgh a tide
adverse to the congregation appears to have set in, as the stipend was ^100
in arrears. During the three years' vacancy which followed the congrega-
tion called Mr Patrick W. Peacock, but at two successive meetings of Pres-
bytery he failed to appear, and the call was withdrawn. His subsequent
history belongs to Langholm (South).
Fifth Afinister. — William Marshall, from Cathedral Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, 7th August 1823. In 1829, when the Relief denomination was
disturbed by the introduction of instrumental music to Roxburgh Place,
Edinburgh, Mr Marshall published " Seven Letters to the Rev. Robert
Brodie, Moderator of Synod, on the Organ Question." On 8th December
of that year he resigned his charge, the congregation not objecting, and in
April 1832 he was received into connection with the Presbytery of New
York, and on 13th November he was installed as pastor of a church at
Pickskill, within their bounds. Though never popular as a preacher he
remained there till 12th December 1843, when he was constrained to resign.
After that he gave himself to educational work, for which he was well fitted
by his scholastic attainments, and died in 1864. In 1834 he published a
pamphlet in favour of marriage with a deceased wife's niece, being the sub-
stance of a speech which he delivered on that question in the Synod of New
York some time before. Much of the reasoning is ingenious, but far-fetched,
and not very convincing. At Colinsburgh Mr Marshall had only ^70 from
the people, which was increased regularly by a grant of ^10 from the .Synod
Fund. The weak state to which they were now reduced may account for the
vacancy of five years which followed.
Sixth Minister. — Archibald Cumming, who had been loosed from
Ceres in 1830. He had now reached the age of si^ty-seven, but the con-
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 381
gregation was bent on having a fixed ministry again. He was inducted,
24th June 1834. Three years after this he returned the communicants at
70, and stated that he took for stipend whatever the people could afford
to give him. Both the attendance and the membership had increased
somewhat since he came among them. The original place of worship was
now falling into decay, and in 1842 there was the wish to secure it for the
Relief body, old associations lending it greater attractions and greater value.
The few worshippers within its walls could hardly be dignified with the name
of a congregation, and Mr Scott, the old minister, was reckoned the pro-
prietor. A bargain was struck with him, and a money instalment paid, when
he died suddenly, and the stately ruin came into the possession of Dysart
Relief Presbytery. On 14th April 1844 a new church on the old site was
opened, and through the kindness of friends, a grant from the Synod's
Liquidation Fund, and the liberality of the people the debt was cleared
off in less than a year. The other church, built in the beginning of the
century, had been previously abandoned, and was now turned to everyday
purposes. Mr Gumming by this time was among the infirmities of age,
though he still gave one discourse each Sabbath as often as his strength
permitted. He died, 5th February 1845, in the seventy-eighth year of his
age and forty-second of his ministry.
With a new church it was to be expected that under a young and active
minister Colinsburgh, with the Relief interest in a united state, would
experience reviving prosperity. In June 1845 the congregation called Mr
John Logan Aikman, but the signatures of members amounted only to ;iy,
and, with better prospects before him, he declined the call.
Seventh Minister. — Andrew Dickie, from Irvine (Relief). Ordained,
i6th December 1845, ^"d loosed, 13th July 1847, on accepting a call to St
Paul's Street, Aberdeen.
Eighth Minister. — Jon's C. JaCKSON, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars).
Ordained, 19th February 1850. There had been considerable increase
during Mr Dickie's ministry of a year and a half, and the callers, including
adherents, were more than doubled ; but it was still the day of small things
with Colinsburgh. Mr Dickie's stipend had only been ;^8o, including ;^30
from the Home Fund. It was now ;^ioo, of which the people provided
^80. Some years after Mr Jackson's ministry began the membership got
some advantage by the dissolution of Kilconquhar congregation, but less so
than there might have been if good feeling had prevailed. As the two places
were only one mile apart, and both churches required to be aided, an
attempt was made to unite them during the former vacancy at Colinsburgh,
but the negotiations only left elements of alienation behind them. However,
under Mr Jackson's care there was progress, and when he left there were
100 names on the communion roll. This was on 4th May 1869, when he
accepted a call to Gorbals, (jlasgow, to be colleague to the Rev. David
M'Rae. This was followed by three unsucessful calls — the first to Mr J. C.
Ingles, who preferred Crieff; the second to Mr John Dickson, afterwards of
Peterhead ; and the third to Mr W. R. Inglis, afterwards of Holm, Kil-
marnock.
Ninth Minister. — Thomas Boston Johnston, from Limekilns, and a
nephew of Dr William Johnston. Called previously to Gateshead, New-
castle. Ordained, 28th June 1871. Accepted a call to be colleague to the
Rev. Robert Gemmell, Arthur Street, Edinburgh, on 2nd February 1875.
Tenth Afinister.— ROBERT DiCK, from Bread Street, Edinburgh. De-
clined South Ronaldshay, Orkney. Ordained, 21st December 1875. I"
1883 Mr Dick published a "History of Colinsburgh United Presbyterian
Church," and in 1896 "Annals of Colinsburgh," which comprises a much
382 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
wider compass. From these two carefully got-up volumes I have drawn
largely in compiling my brief account of the two Relief congregations in
Colinsburgh. The membership at the close of 1899 was 89, and the people
contributed ;^9o of stipend.
LARGO (Relief)
In the earliest records of this congregation its origin is ascribed to encroach«i
ments on the rights of the Christian people, and hence a considerable part
of the Established Church congregation resolved to build "a house of God."
A petition to be taken under their inspection was laid before the Relief
Presbytery of Glasgow, 27th February 1771, and about this time the church
was ready for occupancy. The local grievance which led to this decisive
measure was the admission of a minister into the parish church on 12th
October 1769, though relief was not sought till sixteen months afterwards.
In the erection of a place of worship they speak of having been assisted by
others in the neighbourhood, and the work seems to have been carried on
with much spirit.
First Minister. — Robert Paterson, from Cupar. A number of the
people had an opportunity of hearing him there in the summer of 1771, and
a deputation was appointed to converse with him, but he was distant in his
bearing, telling them he was not going to choose a place for himself. The
Presbytery of Glasgow met at Colinsburgh on 25th July of that year for the
ordination of Mr James Cowan. After the service was over they sat, it is
stated, in a private room, and what was transacted there was not known, but
the petition from Largo for a moderation was refused. The congregation
appear now to have gone over from Gillespie's party to Baine's — or in other
words, from the Presbytery of Glasgow to the Presbytery of Edinburgh. On
17th September Mr Paterson was called, and on the 29th the call from Largo
was accepted in preference to another from Pirie's old congregation in
Abernethy. Ordained, i8th March 1772. The stipend seems to have been
^15 per quarter. Mr Paterson was called to Kilmaronock in 1775, '^"t
remained in Largo. In June 1794 he declined a call to Balfron, but ac-
cepted another to Biggar a few months afterwards.
Second Minister. — -James Smart, translated from Mainsriddell, where
he had been minister for four and a half years. Admitted to Largo in the
beginning of 1796, and accepted a call to Coupar- Angus on ist November
1803.
Third Minister. — James Gardiner, from Auchterarder (South), but a
native of Blackford. Ordained, 30th July 1805. In contrast with his two
predecessors and five of his successors, he ministered at Largo till he reached
an advanced old age. For some years before his death Mr Gardiner was
almost entirely laid aside from ministerial work, and a colleague was
required.
Fourth Minister. — James Hamilton, from Strathaven (East). The
stipend was to be, meanwhile, ^^70, but should he become sole pastor it
would be ^90, with manse and garden. Mr Hamilton was ordained, 28th
July 1840, and in memorable circumstances. Instead of assenting to the
questions of the Formula he stumbled at them one by one. Qualifications
and explanations were given to the Presbytery in the face of the congrega-
tion. As for the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments being the word
of God, he doubted the inspiration of certain verses in the Epistles, particu-
larly those in which Paul spoke, as he himself said, by permission and not
by commandment. Another question, bearing on his motives for entering on
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 383
the holy ministry, he declined to answer because he deemed it inquisitorial,
and a third he objected to because it constituted the Presbytery into a Court
of Conscience. As for solemn engagements, he drew back from them
because he did not feel warranted to make vows with regard to the future.
The proceedings were brought to a stand, and the congregation dismissed
for an hour to afford the brethren time to deal with Mr Hamilton. Though
in nearly every case dissatisfied with the answers they agreed, but not
unanimously, to proceed with the ordination. But enough had emerged to
suggest the fear that there were mental angularities involved, or a morbidity
of conscience, which might cause inconvenience in the future.
It happened, accordingly, that in no very long time Mr Hamilton came
before the Presbytery again. On 6th July 1841, just as the first year of his
ministry was expiring, he tendered his resignation. The congregation was
unanimous in desiring to retain Mr Hamilton, but he kept by his resolution,
and on 7th September the pastoral bond was dissolved. The reason he
assigned for the step he had taken was his objections to the Formula of
Ordination, but he may have had no particular wish to give himself to the
stated work of the ministry, and hence, perhaps, the fact that he was not
ordained till after eleven years of preacher life. In the beginning of 1846
the neighbouring congregation of Leven, with the view of turning Mr
Hamilton's gifts to permanent account, sent a deputation to ascertain
whether he would become a candidate for their vacant pulpit. It was found
that he had got very much over his former scruples, and they were of
opinion that, if the Presbytery did not insist on him taking the Formula, he
would accept their call if he were chosen. A moderation was about to be
applied for when they received notice that he declined to come forward.
He continued acting as pulpit supply for a long course of years, and in that
capacity " Laird" Hamilton is still remembered by some elderly people, who
recall his tastefully - composed discourses and his sing-song reading of
the Psalms. He died at Edinburgh, 24th June i860, in the sixty-eighth
year of his age.
Fifth Minister.— YiKYCK Kerr, M.A., from Beith (Head Street). The
same name was prominent in that place during the Controversy about the
lifting of the communion elements before prayer. The Bryce Kerr of that
time was a vehement supporter of old Mr Smyton, and like him withdrew from
the Antiburgher fellowship. He was afterwards a pillar in the " Lifter" con-
gregation at Dairy, but the family ultimately joined the Relief, and now the
name reappears in that connection. Mr Kerr was first called to Dundee
(now Dudhope Road), and then to the congregation of Irvine, but in the
latter case the majority was so slight, and party feeling so strong, that the
call had to be laid aside. Ordained at Largo, 29th March 1843. The call
was signed by 177 members and 49 adherents. The stipend arrangements
were the same as before. Mr Gardiner died, 28th February 1843, in the
seventy-seventh year of his age and thirty-eighth of his ministry. The Presby-
tery, at a special meeting on the funeral day, recorded their sense of his
merits as a faithful and efficient minister of the gospel. By his death
Mr Kerr entered at once on the sole pastorate and the full emoluments,
^90, with house and garden, but he died at Mossend, Beith, 25th October
1843, in the seventh month of his ministry and the twenty-seventh year of
his age.
Sixth ^/««/^r.— Archibald MuiR, from Strathaven (West), a brother
of the Rev. Francis Muir of Leith. At a moderation during the former
vacancy 67 voted for Mr Muir and 66 for Mr A. Milligan, a preacher of
whom particulars are given under Dunning (Relief). Some members of the
Relief Synod used to maintain that one of a majority should necessitate the
384
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
sustaining of a call, but in the present instance even this plea was not avail-
able. A vote had been declined by the Moderator, which, in the judgment
of the Presbytery, should have been received, and this would have produced
entire equality. After Mr Kerr's death the congregation came back on Mr
Muir, who was carried over Mr Archibald Russell, afterwards of Newburgh,
by 86 to 26. Ordained, 31st July 1844, and resigned on account of ill-health,
2nd January 1849. ^^ Muir then tried Jamaica, and officiated there for
nine months in the mission station of Rosehill, but, being obliged to cease
active service, he returned to end his days in the mother country. He died
at Barrhead, 9th December 1850, in the thirty-fourth year of his age and
seventh of his ministry.
The congregation now issued five calls in succession within little more
than two years — the first to Mr Archibald Alison, who preferred Leslie ; the
second to Mr John Young, who preferred Newburgh ; the third to Mr
George Morris, who preferred Dairy, Ayrshire ; and the fourth to Mr John
Mathison, who preferred Monkwearmouth.* With the fifth they fell back
on an ordained minister, and were successful.
Seventh Minister. — THOMAS Somerville, who had been fourteen years
in Auchtergaven (Relief). But after the Union of 1847 it was felt that a
second congregation in that place was superfluous, and the door which
opened at Largo was welcomed. Inducted, 7th May 1851. The stipend
was now ^100, with manse and garden. Mr Somerville died, ist September
1857, in the forty-ninth year of his age and twenty-first of his ministry.
Eighth Minister. — David Hay, from St Andrews. Ordained, loth
August 1858. Caught cold his first winter there, and died, 9th April 1859,
in the twenty-seventh year of his age and the eighth month of his ministry.
His tombstone in St Andrews Churchyard, the inscription states, was erected
by the young people of his congregation, by whom he was much and dearly
beloved.
Ninth Minister. — David . Malloch, from Tollcross, Glasgow. Or-
dained, 13th March i860. The congregation suffered some reduction of
strength at this time through want of harmony among the members and in
the session, but Mr Malloch, who had had considerable experience in
mission work, laboured faithfully on during a long course of years. In the
early part of his ministry he set about having the old church, the cost of
which is put down under £,20 in money, displaced by another on a level with
the times. His efforts were successful, and the new church was opened on
17th July 1872, with sittings for 400, and built at a cost of ^1200. Mr
Malloch died, 29th June 1896, in the seventy-third year of his age and
thirty-seventh of his ministry.
Tenth Minister. — GEORGE R. Atkinson, M.A., from Edinburgh (Eyre
Place). Ordained, 4th February 1897. The membership at the close of
1899 was 1 15, and the stipend from the people ^100.
DYSART (Relief)
The date of this congregation's origin cannot be given with exactness, but
their first place of worship was built in 1772. It cost ^600, and had sittings
* John Mathison was from Thornhill, Dumfriesshire. Called to South Ronald-
shay in July 1850, and to Largo in August, but declined both places. Ordained at
Monkwearmouth, Sunderland, on i8th June 1851. Resigned, and was admitted as
an annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund in 1880, being worn out by
the toil and anxiety connected with the building of a new church. Died, 5th
February 1892, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-first of his ministry.
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 385
for 650 people, and, as was usual in such cases, the expense was largely met
from borrowed money. There was no forced settlement in the parish at the
time, so that the movement cannot be ascribed to local grievances.
First Minister. — William Campbell, M.A., a licentiate of the Church
of Scotland, who is said to have been also parochial schoolmaster of
Leuchars. Ordained at Dysart, 23rd October 1774. The Rev. Michael
Boston of Falkirk, subsequently his brother-in-law, preached, and from a
note annexed to the printed sermon we are able to give the above date. Mr
Campbell's stipend seems to have been ^70, with ^4 for sacramental
expenses, and in 1786 ^5 was added for house rent. The congregation
had no manse till 1802, when one was built at a cost of over ^150. In 1778
Mr Campbell came forth in defence of Relief Terms of Communion, which
had been vigorously animadverted on in an anonymous pamphlet by the Rev.
James Bennet, Antiburgher minister of Ceres. The reply was entitled,
"Just View of the Principles of the Presbytery of Relief" Mr Campbell
died, 8th March 1 792, and in the managers' books there is an entry of 2s. 6d.
paid " to a man for inviting to the funeral." Mr Campbell and two of his
co-presbyters were married to daughters of the Rev. Thomas Boston of
Jedburgh. His mother-in-law died at Dysart in 1787, and his own widow,
Margaret Boston, at Burntisland in 1830, aged seventy-three. She had sur-
vived her husband thirty-eight years.
Second Minister. — William Billerwell, who had been thirteen years
Relief minister at Blairlogie. Inducted, 5th February 1794. In view of
calling Mr Billerwell it was agreed at a meeting of the managers, seventeen
being present, to give him ^100 of stipend, but off that he was to pay his
own house rent, and " dispense the sacrament twice in the year." Two or
three items of expenditure about this time may find a place here — such as
^2, 14s. lod. paid for ministers and horses at the induction ; carriages from
Blairlogie, for men and horses, ^3, 13s.; and a carriage to bring the
minister's family, ^2, 2s. Mr Billerwell died, 30th November 1821, in the
sixty-sixth year of his age and forty-first of his ministry. Two years before
his death he obtained a colleague.
Third Minister. — James S PENCE, a licentiate of Edinburgh Presbytery.
Ordained, 29th September 18 19. On 3rd May 1827 the congregation applied
to the Presbytery for advice in their embarrassed circumstances, and they
were recommended to arrange for an assistant and successor to Mr Spence,
but instead of this his resignation was accepted on 5th June, the congrega-
tion having engaged to pay him ^40 for ten years. He died some time in
September 1833, in the forty-eighth year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — William Adair Pettigrew, from Bridgeton,
Glasgow (Greenhead). Ordained, 12th August 1828. Eight years after
this Mr Pettigrew reported 425 communicants, an increase of 175 since the
first year of his ministry. The stipend was ^100, with manse and garden,
and with the exception of 20 members from Wemyss, 17 from Kirkcaldy,
and a very few from Abbotshall, Markinch, and Kinglassie, the families re-
sided in Dysart parish. At the Union of 1847 Mr Pettigrew opened the
Relief Synod, and his sermon on that occasion appears in the little volume
of "Union Memorials." In 1859 the people were engaged liquidating their
debt of nearly ^600, aided by £ioo from the Board. Mr Pettigrew retired
from active duty in 1862 with an annual allowance of ^100 from the congre-
gation. The junior colleague was to have ;^ioo, which a continuance of the
former supplement would raise so far, besides the manse, which Mr Pettigrew
volunteered to surrender.
Fifth Minister. — James R. HOUSTON, from Glasgow (Greenhead). Or-
dained, 14th October 1862. The call was signed by 115 members and 34
II. 2B
386 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
adherents. The senior minister remained in Dysart for other two years,
taking part occasionally in the work ; but he then removed to the house of
his son-in-law at Leith, the Rev. James S. Mill, where he died on the last
day of December 1868, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-first of
his ministry. His colleague and successor, Mr Houston, accepted a call to
Carluke, 7th June 1870.
Sixth Minister. — William Guthrie, M.A., from Dunblane. Called
also to Middlesborough, and ordained at Dysart, 21st February 1871. The
present church, on a more prominent site, was built in 1867 at a cost of
^2600, with sittings for 650. The old building was then turned into a hand-
loom factory. A new manse was built in 1876 at a cost of ^1120, of which
the people were to raise ^870, and the Board allowed ^250. The member-
ship at the close of 1899 was within a unit of 500, and the stipend ^280,
with the manse.
PITTENWEEM (Relief)
On 20th March 1776 Mr James Nairn, afterwards D.D., whose father and
grandfather had been ministers of Anstruther, Easter, was ordained to the
parish of Pittenweem in opposition to the wishes of the parishioners generally.
This issued in an application to the Relief Presbytery for sermon, and in the
erecting of a place of worship, with 500 sittings. An entry in the records
of the Town Council, of date 8th August 1777, indicates the time the work
was going on, and also the opposition encountered. It runs thus: "The
Council being informed that there had been stones wrought for building
a meeting-house in this town, without asking leave of the magistrates and
council, they discharge any more stones to be wrought on the ground be-
longing to this town, and order the officers to make intimation thereof to the
oversmen of the said meeting." This building served for eighty years, but,
according to the testimony of an outsider, it was "cold, damp, and un-
suitable."
First Minister. — GEORGE H.-vliburton Nicolson. In the absence of
Presbytery minutes the date cannot be given, but the ordination took place
in the latter part of 1777. Mr Nicolson appears to have been a man of
superior gifts, but Pittenweem had the benefit of his services for not more
than five years. Before coming there he had a call from Wamphray, and as
it was first in order of time the impression that he did wrong in preferring
Pittenweem, with its larger stipend, is said to have preyed upon his mind.
Wamphray having fallen vacant again, he gave the people there to under-
stand that he was willing now to repair the wrong he believed he had done
them. They accepted the suggestion, and a call followed. He was loosed
from Pittenweem prior to the Synod of May 1782.
Second Minister. — Alexander Hunter, a licentiate of the Relief
Presbytery of Edinburgh. Ordained some time in 1782. The Synod in
May 1788 declared his connection with Pittenweem dissolved. He had been
dealt with by Dysart Presbytery at a meeting on 6th November previous,
and had appealed against elders and managers being received as witnesses
against him. The Synod sustained the appeal, but found him guilty of
prevarication, and confirmed the sentence of the Presbytery. After being
rebuked he craved a testimonial of moral character, which was granted.
He received licence anew from the Established Presbytery of Lauder on
7th October 1788. Having been presented to the parish of Heriot he was
ordained as assistant and successor there, 12th April 1791. It does not
seem, from his own account of Heriot in the Old Statistical History, that his
work there was burdensome, the population being 300, half of whom were
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 387
Burgher Seceders, part of these going to Stow, about eight miles distant, and
part to Fala, about six. Still, he did not find it all comfort even in Heriot.
*'The church," he said, "is an old and infirm building ; it is scarcely safe to
perform public worship in it. It is neither dry above nor decently seated.
It is, perhaps, the most bleak and miserable place of accommodation for divine
worship in Scotland." The manse was little better, recent repairs having
been superficial to the last degree. " Upon the least blast it draws water
. from every quarter, which overflows the rooms." As for the stipend, it was
exactly 1000 merks (about ^56), including sacramental expenses. The
glebe of about fourteen Scots acres, partly arable and partly fit for pasture,
seems to have been the one redeeming feature in the situation. The
transition from Pittenweem to Heriot was apparently not much to Mr
Hunter's advantage. He died, 20th January 181 7.
Third Minister. — Alexander Simpson, D.D., previously of Alnwick,
to which place he had come after sojourning in London for a time. He
now wished back to the Relief connection. The Synod in 1789 had the
call from Pittenweem before them, but no adjustment of matters between
him and them was arrived at. They wished him to acknowledge that he
did wrong in leaving Duns without owning the Presbytery, or asking to
have the pastoral relationship dissolved. He made answer that wrong-
doing meant in his estimation a transgression of God's Law, and he knew
of no Law of God which he had transgressed in that affair, and neither was
he convinced that his conduct was inconsistent with Presbyterian govern-
ment. Hearing this the Synod dismissed the case, leaving Ur Simpson
"outside the denomination. That he commenced work, none the less, at
Pittenweem is more than likely, and at next Synod he gave in a paper
containing an apology for leaving the congregation of Duns as he did,
whereupon it was agreed to receive him back into the Relief body. The
fact that he was son-in-law to Boston of Jedburgh, and that he had two
brothers-in-law in Dysart Presbytery, may have inclined them to compass
an accommodation with him. During what remained of his ministry he
took an active part in Church affairs, specially in opposing what he con-
sidered the dangerous errors of the Rev. James Smith, Dunfermline, against
whom he published a vigorous pamphlet in 1792. He also acted as Presby-
tery Clerk. Died, 6th January 1793, in the sixtieth year of his age and
thirtieth of his ministry. Had Dr Simpson possessed more stability, and
been less self-willed, his talents might have been of much greater service
both to the Relief cause and to the Church at large.
Fourth Minister. — David Wilson, from Muckart. After completing
his course of study at the Antiburgher Hall he joined the Smytonites, and
became minister of a "Lifter" congregation in Perth. He appears to have
been ordained there towards the close of 1789, as on 17th December of
that year a female member of the North Church, Perth, w.as found fault
with by the session for having attended the " Lifters " at the ordination of
Mr Wilson and the Sabbath thereafter. But the cause made no headway,
and Mr Wilson was received into connection with the Relief Synod in May
1793, and he was inducted into Pittenweem the following year. His stipend
in 1797 was j^8o, with ^^6 for house rent. Having resigned he was loosed
from his charge, ist January 1811, and died at Pittenweem on 27th January
1813, aged fifty-two. One of his sons was ultimately known as the Right
Reverend William Scott Wilson, LL.D., Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway.
He died at Ayr, 17th March 1889, in his eighty-third year.
Fifth Minister. — WILLIAM Fyfe, from Kilmarnock (King Street). Or-
dained, 31st October 1811, the stipend to be ^95. Under Mr Fyfe there
■was a large increase in the collections, but on 6th July 1813 he accepted
388 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
a call to Bathgate (West), where there were better prospects. At this time
there was a debt on the church of about ^200.
Sixth Minister. — Joseph Purdie, who had previously been in Climpy,
Wilsontown. After itinerating anew as a preacher for some months he was
called first to Castlegarth, Newcastle, and then to Pittenweem, where he was
inducted, 19th July 1814. The stipend seems to have varied from ^80 to
^iio, and as collectors' districts we have Anstruther, Easter and Wester,
and Cellardyke on the east, St Monans on the west, and Carnbee on the-
north. On nth October 1825 Mr Purdie tabled his resignation, on the
ground of inadequate support. A committee of Presbytery met at Colins-
burgh on the 24th to issue the case, and, no commissioner having appeared
from Pittenweem, the demission was accepted. After that he retired to
Crossford, Clydevale, where he died, 21st Febinaary 1850, aged seventy-two.
A daughter of his is the widow of the Rev. James Frame of Sydney Place
Church, Glasgow.
Seventh Minister. — James Finlay, from ToUcross, Glasgow. Ordained,
I2th June 1827. In January 1830 a case with remarkable features came
before Pittenweem session. Two members from Anstruther — father and
son, apparently — were complained of for frequently spending a considerable
part of Sabbath evening drinking when they came through to Pittenweem,
and that on the first Sabbath of the year they remained at least four hours
in a public-house, when by the noise they made they committed an outrage
on the sacred day. Called in, they said it had been use and wont with them
to spend the evening of the first Sabbath of the year in that way, and the
elder of the two declared that he had learnt about the doctrines of Christi-
anity in the public-house as well as in the church, and if in Pittenweem next
year he would do the very same. Indeed, rather than submit to the session's
interference in this matter, he would leave the church. Some time after he
appeared before the session complaining that he was kept back from the
communion, but his language was such that the meeting was closed abruptly
to get quit of his violence. Mr Finlay was loosed from his charge, 25th
April 1837, and suspended sine die for immorality. He emigrated to
America, where he was inducted into a church in the State of New York,
having been restored to ministerial status before he left.
Eighth Minister. — James R. Kerr, a native of Camlachie. Passed
through a theological course at Glasgow University in connection with the
Church of Scotland. Joined the Relief congregation of Calton, and was
received as a divinity student by the Synod in May 1836. After attending
a session at the Relief Hall he obtained licence from Glasgow Presbytery.
Having declined a call to Wall Knoll, Newcastle, he was ordained at
Pittenweem, nth September 1838. On the following Sabbath he was
introduced to his charge by his minister, the Rev. Alexander Harvey of
Calton, a circumstance which led to the famous debate at Anstruther,
three weeks afterwards, on the State Church question between Mr Hars^ey
and Maitland Makgill, Esq. of Rankeillor. On 3rd January 1847 the old
place of worship, which as stated above was cold, damp, and unsuitable,
was displaced by another. It has 600 sittings, and was opened by the
Rev. Daniel Gorrie of Kettle, " under very favourable circumstances." In
1858 the present manse was purchased with funds raised partly by sub-
scription, partly by a bazaar, and partly by a grant from the Ferguson
Bequest. The last time Mr Kerr appeared in the pulpit he was unable
to finish his discourse. The loss of a son, who was drowned at sea, is
believed to have told seriously on his health, and he died, i6th May 1865,
in the fiftieth year of his age and twenty-seventh of his ministry.
Ninth Minister. — James Pittendrigh, M.A., from Aberdeen (St
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 389
Nicholas' Church). Ordained, 3rd July 1866, the congregation promising
^145, with manse and garden. After a period of broken health, which
necessitated his sojourn abroad for a year, Mr Pittendrigh resigned office,
with all its duties and emoluments, and was enrolled on 12th December
1893 as minister-emeritus. He died, 27th June 1894, in the fifty-sixth year
of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry.
Tcitth Mzmsfer.— Daniel Fisher, from Callander. Ordained, 2nd
May 1894. The membership at the close of 1899 was 192, and the stipend
from the people ^160, with the manse.
KINGHORN (Relief and Burgher)
This congregation began in 1778. On 27th May of that year the Relief
Presbytery of Glasgow received a petition for sermon from the forming
congregation of Kinghorn, but allowed it to lie on the table. The applica-
tion was renewed at successive meetings, and at the last of these the Clerk
was instructed to write them that "till the sacraments are over they cannot
possibly afford them any supply," but they undertook to do everything in
their power for them after the pressure was past. These are the earliest
notices of Kinghorn congregation to be found in the records of the Relief
Church. Why they applied to Glasgow rather than Edinburgh does not
appear, but the reason they had for leaving the Established Church is
pretty clearly given. The parish minister, Mr Webster, had made the
place too hot for him, and he removed to London, leaving a preacher to
act as his substitute. His demission was accepted on 24th November 1779.
It is evident, however, from the date given above that the Relief con-
gregation originated at least a twelvemonth before this. The church is
also believed to have been built in 1779, vvith sittings for 550, but the
cost is not known — only a great part of the labour was gratuitous.
Fi'rsl Minister. — JOSEPH JOHNSTON, of w.hom we learn the following
particulars from Scott's Fasti : — He received licence from the Established
Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1 771, having been previously chaplain to the
Charity Workhouse. Ordained as missionary to Zetland, where he re-
mained for three years. He then Joined the Relief, and was settled at
Kinghorn prior to 24th February 1779. When, or in what circumstances,
he resigned his charge cannot be discovered, but it is stated in the Old
Statistical History a few years after that the seat rents and collections were
not equal to his support and to pay the interest on borrowed money. He
withdrew at least, and was received back into the Establishment by Edin-
burgh Presbytery on 30th April 1788. Having professed sorrow for his
defection and waywardness "he was admonished to be more steady and
uniform in his future conduct." He was admitted to Innerleithen parish,
i6th March 1797, and died, 28th June 1808, in the thirty-eighth year of
his ministry.
Mr Johnston, as we have just seen, must have left Kinghorn not later
than the beginning of 1788, and on 17th November of that year a paper
signed by the Preses in name of elders, managers, and other members was
laid before the Burgher Presbytery of Dunfermline to be taken under their
inspection, which was at once agreed to. The change was of advantage in
the way of increase, for they were by-and-by joined, as the Old Statistical
History relates, by Burgher families in the town and neighbourhood who
had been accustomed travelling to Kirkcaldy (Bethelfield) some three miles
off. In their new connection they called Mr John Jamieson, whom the
Synod appointed to Scone. The stipend promised was ^55, with a dwelling-
house, and £s for sacramental expenses.
390 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Second Minister. — GEORGE Black, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars). Or-
dained, nth April 1792. Mr Black was called in 1801 to Miles Lane,
London, but the Synod continued him in Kinghom. He died, 3rd October
1822, in the fifty-second year of his age and thirty-first of his ministry.
His character was thus summed up at the time : " Modest and unobtrusive
in his manner, and a zealous minister of the New Testament." After his
death the congregation called Mr Robert Brown, whom the Synod appointed
to Cumnock. Kinghorn congregation showed well in regard to numbers on
this occasion, the call being signed by 298 members and 69 adherents.
Third Minister. — James Hardie, from Dalkeith (East). Called also
to Burghead, and ordained at Kinghorn, 15th July 1824. In 1837 the
membership amounted to 258, of whom about one-sixth were from other
parishes, most of them being old Burgher famihes from Burntisland, nearly
three miles off. The stipend was .^100, with house and garden. There was
a debt of ^330, resting chiefly on the manse, which had been built about the
end of the century. Two years after this the congregation, in extremity, sold
their whole property for the amount of the debt, with the privilege of redeem-
ing within five years. In 1841 the Liquidation Board came to the rescue,
with the promise of ^100 if the people raised ^130. In 1843 the conditions
were met, so that church and manse were their own again, with only a debt
of ^100 remaining. But after the Disruption the congregation underwent
still more serious decline.
Fourth Minister. — Daniel M'Kenzie, from Glasgow (Cathedral Street).
Ordained as colleague to Mr Hardie, 8th April 1862. Four years after-
wards a new church was opened, with 320 sittings, and built at a cost of
^1138. On 3rd December 1867 Mr M'Kenzie's resignation was accepted,
as he had decided on proceeding to Australia. Became minister first of
St George's, CoUingwood, Melbourne, and on 9th April 1888 was admitted
to Geelong, where he still remains. After his removal Kinghorn congrega-
tion called Mr T. Cockburn, who preferred Hawick (now Orrock Place).
Fifth Minister. — James JENKINS, from St Ninians, a nephew of the
Rev. James Jenkins of Castle-Douglas. Ordained, 4th May 1869, and died,
nth January 1874, ii^ the thirty-first year of his age and fifth of his ministry.
Sixth Minister. — John Wilson Thomson, from Glasgow (Sydney
Place). Ordained, 15th September 1874. The stipend was ^70, with the
manse, and the supplement was ^70. Mr Hardie died, 22nd February 1879,
in the eighty-fourth year of his age and fifty-fifth of his ministry. Till
within a few weeks of his death Mr Hardie was able to act as chaplain to
the Combination Workhouse at Kinghorn. The membership of the con-
gregation has stood between no and 120 for a number of years, and the
stipend from the people is ^88, with the manse.
INNERLEVEN AND METHIL (Antiburgher)
On i6th May 1738 several Praying Societies in and about Leven acceded
to the Associate Presbytery, and several adherences are recorded within
the next few years. They attended at Abbotshall, but on 15th June 1743
they were transferred at their own request to Ceres, where Mr Campbell
had been recently ordained. In 1768 this branch of the congregation
petitioned the session to grant them Sabbath services occasionally during
the winter season, "in regard that both their aged and young are much
detained from ordinances on account of their great distance from the
ordinary place of public worship," a distance of not less than nine or ten
miles. The session would consent to no such dismembering of their
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 391
minister's labours, holding, as they did, that the granting of the i;equest
would bring in similar applications from other corners, where there were
members worse situated than even the petitioners. The Presbytery having
upset this decision the session brought the case before the Synod, who
recommended Mr Bennet, the minister, to give his people about Leven
four Sabbaths in the year. Not satisfied with this meagre compromise
43 members in that district petitioned the session in 1771 to concur with
them in asking to be formed into a distinct congregation. The reply was
that a severance was uncalled for, but they left the Presbytery to take their
own course and be responsible for the consequences.
In the absence of authoritative records it is impossible to tell what form
the decision took, but it is likely that Innerleven (or Dubbieside) began
now to receive occasional supply apart from Ceres. Their own congrega-
tional minutes show that they had a session in 1781, and were engaged
seating their church, the outlay being slight. These entries carry both
the origin of the congregation and the erection of the church much further
back than the dates usually given. For some years at this time they were
generally supplied on Sabbath by Mr James Smart, a probationer from
Pathhead, who was long employed by the Antiburgher Synod in conducting
the Philosophical Class, but died without obtaining a pastoral charge. The
weekly expenditure was met by church-door collections and small sums
handed in from Leven and Dubbieside. In 1793 disjunctions were applied
for by 15 of the Ceres members, who wished to join Dubbieside, and with
this increase the new congregation three years afterwards set about obtain-
ing a fixed ministry.
First Minister. — JOHN M 'DONALD, from Ceres, who had been ordained
at Moira, in Ireland, 9th July 1789, but at the Synod in April 1796 it was
reported that he had been loosed from his charge, and was back to Scotland
in full status. He was admitted to Dubbieside on 8th November following.
The members had met in a private house, and after subscribing among
themselves they saw their way to promise ^50 of stipend. But though
the putting in of a " loft " next year looked well they continued few in
number, and in 1810 Mr M'Donald informed them that he had got an
invitation to go to America, and the question carne up : What were they to
do ? All he wanted, he said, was an honest through-bearing. The resolu-
tion come to was to pay punctually the sum promised, and more if they
were able. But though the people contributed heartily the stipend kept
beneath the minimum, and the Presbytery apologised to the Synod for them
by telling that Dubbieside was a very weak congregation. In May 1817
Mr M'Donald's resignation was reported, and on 9th September he was
inducted to Thurso.
Second Minister. — WILLIAM Harper, from Kilmaurs. Ordained, 28th
April 1 8 19. During Mr Harper's lengthened ministry the congregation
must have grown considerably, since in 1837 the stipend was over ^84.
The communicants were returned at 282, but all of the poor and working
classes. Of the families under Mr Harper's care, more than a fourth
came from Scoonie parish, and supplies from that side were likely to be
lessened now that a Relief congregation was formed in Leven. The debt
at this time was slight, but it had increased to ;^2oo in 1844, with a fast
declining membership. The burden was cleared off shortly after, the
Debt Liquidating Board giving one-half. Mr Harper died, i6th October
1853, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry.
During this vacancy the Presbytery wished Dubbieside suppressed,
Leven being so near, but attempts in that direction were firmly resisted,
Antiburgher congregations generally possessing great tenacity of life. Being
392 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
determined to retain their corporate existence the people were given to
understand that they were not to look to the central fund for assistance.
Third Minister. — Andrew Nicol, from Kinross (West). Ordained,
13th February 1855. Mr Nicol had reached the age of sixty-seven, a case
that never had its parallel in the United Presbyterian Church, or in any
branch of which it is composed. He received licence on 2nd March 1819,
so that he had been a licentiate thirty-six years. In addition to this, he had
long laboured under the infirmity of almost total blindness. On account of
growing frailty he was loosed from his charge, 24th September 1861. He
died at Kinross, 14th July 1871, in the eighty-fourth year of his age, but of
that long period less than seven years had been spent in a ministerial charge.
During the Voluntary Controversy Mr Nicol figured on the platform as a
debater, his principal opponent being Mr Charles Leckie, a Reformed
Presbyterian who championed the cause of Establishments, and is credited
by Peter Landreth with possessing "great fluency of disorderly speech."
The report of a four nights' debate in Dundee between them was published,
and is still to be met with. Mr Nicol was also the author of a pamphlet,
entitled " National Churches Allied to Despotism," etc.
During this vacancy the congregation called Mr Robert Hall, afterwards
of Old Meldrum ; Mr George Philp, afterwards of Saltcoats ; the Rev.
John James, afterwards of Wolverhampton*; and Mr Charles G. Squair,
now of New Deer, but all declined.
Fourth Minister. — Robert Fisher, from Perth (North), a brother of the
Rev. William Fisher, New Leeds. Ordained, 19th January 1864. Like his
predecessor, though not nearly to the same extent, Mr Fisher was consider-
ably beyond the average age, being in his forty-fifth year. In 1869 a manse
was built at a cost of ^550, of which one half came from the Manse Fund,
and the other half was raised mainly through the exertions of the minister.
The present church, with sittings for 300, was opened in July 1878. The
cost amounted to ^1300 or ^1400, but of this sum only ^400 remained un-
paid when Mr Fisher withdrew. In October 1880 the circumstances of the
congregation were found to be very discouraging owing to the stoppage of
public works near by, and ,other things. The membership had come down
within ten years from 80 to 49, and reviving was not to be looked for unless
under new conditions. At this point Mr Fisher resigned, and was loosed
from Dubbieside, ist December 1880, in the seventeenth year of his ministry.
He was thereupon admitted an annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers'
Fund, and died at Perth, 24th December 1890, in the seventy-second year of
his age.
Fifth Minister. — James W. Drennan, M.A., originally from Tarbolton
* John James, from London Road, Glasgow, after attending our Divinity Hall
four sessions, went to Canada. He was ordained at Gait, in the Presbytery of
Wellington, 29th September 1857. After being there three years he returned to Scot-
land for change of climate, and had his name placed on the probationer list in 1861.
Having declined Dubbieside he was located at Wolverhampton for 1863, but when
the people there were taking steps to have him for their minister he left, having re-
ceived a call to Brantford, Canada. Before he proceeded thither a movement was
begun to form a congregation in Glasgow, on the south side of Eglinton Toll, with the
view to Mr James, but owing to discouragements from the Presbytery the scheme
was allowed to drop. He was thereafter settled in Paris, Canada West, from which
he was invited back to Wolverhampton, where he was inducted, 25th May 1869.
Resigned, nth April 1871, and returned to America. He next held a charge at
Albany, New York, but was admitted to Knox Church, Hamilton, on nth June 1877.
In 1899 he was residing at Paris, Canada, as a retired minister, with the degree of
D.D. Dr James is a brother of the Rev. G. F. James of Bristo Church, Edinburgh.
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 393
congregation, but the family removed to Ireland when he was a boy. During
his student course he was connected with Kent Road, Glasgow. Having
been located in Dubbieside for over a year, during which there was marked
improvement in various ways, he was ordained, 25th May 1882. The name of
the congregation was now changed to Innerleven, and in 1893 it became
"Innerleven and Methil," the latter place, which is a short distance to the
west, having grown from a population of 750 in 1881 to more than double
that number in 1891. Before the end of Mr Drennan's second year the
membership reached over a hundred, and in 1888 he intimated to the Pres-
bytery that the property was entirely free of debt. At the close of 1899
there were 105 names on the communion roll, and the stipend of ^[jii los.
from the people was made up by Supplement and Surplus to ^169, los.,
besides the manse.
BUCKHAVEN (Burgher)
On nth June 1792 a number of people in Buckhaven applied to the Burgher
Presbytery of Dunfermline for sermon. The vacancy in Kennoway, the
church to which most of them belonged, was in course of being filled up, and
the call had not been harmonious. Mr Archibald Harper, afterwards of
Bo'ness, was officiating within the bounds at the time, and this confirms the
statement that he was the choice of the minority in opposition to Mr Alex-
ander Morison, the successful candidate. Thus Buckhaven became the
seat of a Secession congregation, an arrangement greatly needed in the
interests of that large fishing village, Kennoway being three and a half miles
distant, and no place of worship nearer than two miles. The application
was granted, and either of the two colleagues at Dunfermline, Mr Husband
or Mr M'Farlane, was to open the station on Sabbath first. On 21st July
1794 a congregation was formed, with a membership of 90. From some old
congregational records it appears that the church, with 600 sittings, was in
course of erection at this time.
First Minister. — David Tei-FER (his own spelling is Telford), from
Stirling (now Erskine Church). The call was signed by 122 members, and
the people agreed to give ^70 of stipend, with ^4 for a house, and ^6 for
sacramental expenses. The collections, meanwhile, figure well, and the
funds seem to have been ample enough to meet all obligations. After Mr
Telfer's trials were delivered notice came of a competing call from Ports-
burgh, Edinburgh. In some old papers which belonged to John Birrell,
Michael Bruce's friend, there is reference to this call as involving an unwel-
come contingency, Buckhaven being in the writer's opinion the more desir-
able place. That was probably Mr Telfer's own view, and this may have
contributed to the Synod's decision. He was ordained at Buckhaven, 12th
July 1796. The congregation is said to have increased largely under his
ministry, a fact which scarcely comes out in the collection lists or in the
punctuality with which his stipend was paid. He died, 3rd May 1824, in the
fifty-sixth year of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry. In the Journal
of Dr Hay, Kinross, there is the following testimony to Mr Telfer's worth : —
" He was a man of unfeigned piety, great modesty, obliging disposition, and
unpretending condescension. If not conspicuous for brilliant parts he
possessed what was better adapted for the sphere in which Providence had
placed him — great affection of heart, amiability of temper, simplicity of
manners, and no small measure of good sense." Dr M'Kelvie in a footnote
adds : " It is doubtful if any minister of his denomination ever exercised a
greater influence over his flock than he did." I know it used to be remarked
that Mr Telfer was prophet, priest, and king in Buckhaven.
394 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
A considerable time after Mr Telfer's death the congregation called Mr
Peter M'Dowall, but he intimated his preference for Alloa, and the Synod
decided accordingly.
Second Minister. — ROBERT POLLOK, a native of Neilston parish, and
brought up in the Established Church. After joining the Secession he was
connected with Mauchline congregation. Ordained, 7th November 1826.
Eleven years after this the stipend was ^100, with house and garden, and
the membership was over 500. On i6th October 1845 Mr Pollok abruptly
handed in his resignation to the Presbytery, having as Moderator called a
pro re nata meeting for that purpose. One reason he assigned for taking
this step was " that he cannot obtain a sufficient number of elders, and those
whom he has cannot discharge the duties of the office." This was breaking
down the bridge behind him and making continuance in Buckhaven im-
possible. When the Presbytery met with Mr Pollok and the congregation
to accommodate matters they found this particular charge to be baseless.
On nth November Mr Pollok, whose difficulties were not removed because
he had determined otherwise, pressed the acceptance of his demission, and
the commissioners signified their acquiescence. On being loosed from his
charge he craved a Presbyterial certificate, which was granted. There was
a general impression that a change of denominational connection was con-
templated, the correctness of which was soon verified. Mr Pollok had
figured as a pronounced Voluntary, and in his answers to the Commissioners
on Religious Instruction he told that his church was used only for public
worship and occasional lectures against Establishments. However, at the
Assembly in 1846 his petition to be admitted into the State Church was
granted, though Principal Lee moved its rejection. Possessing popular gifts
he was inducted soon after to Kingston quoad sacra Church, Glasgow. He
died, 2 1 St March 1879, ii^ the eighty-fifth year of his age and fifty-third of
his ministry. His son, Dr Allan Pollok, holds an important place in the
Presbyterian Church of Canada, and a daughter of his was married to Dr
Snodgrass, also of Canada, but now parish minister in Canonbie, Dum-
friesshire.
Third Minister. — William Cowan, from Selkirk. Prior to Buckhaven
he received calls to Muirton, Pitrodie, Mainsriddell, West Linton, and Dum-
fries (Buccleuch Street). Buckhaven came last, and secured his acceptance.
The call was signed by 353 members and 83 adherents, and the ordination
took place, 6th July 1846. On 29th May 1855 Mr Cowan demitted his charge,
with the view of undertaking mission work in connection with Regent Place,
Glasgow, and building up a mission congregation. This was the beginning
of what is now Albert Street Church.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander C. Rutherford, whose clerical ante-
cedents are given under Erskine Church, Falkirk. After twelve years'
activity as an Evangelical Unionist he was restored to his former connection
by the Synod in 1855, and, his name being placed on the probationer list, he
obtained calls within a few months, and almost simultaneously, to Buckhaven
and St Andrews. In the latter case, though the call was technically unani-
mous, there was an undercurrent of dissatisfaction at work, and Mr Rutherford
happily made choice of Buckhaven. Admitted, 13th November 1855, and
loosed, 27th March i860, on accepting a call to North Richmond Street,
Edinburgh.
Fifth Minister. — Robert Alexander, from Fenwick. Ordained, 25th
March 1862. On Monday, 12th April 1869, the present church, seated for
860, and built at a cost of over ^2600, was opened by Professor Eadie, the
collections that day and on the following Sabbath amounting to upwards of
^300. On 1 2th August 1873 Mr Alexander accepted a call to Queen Anne
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 395
Street, Dunfermline. The new manse was in course of erection when Mr
Alexander left. It cost about ^1050, exclusive of the sum received for
the old manse, all, except ^200 from the Manse Board, being raised by
the people.
Sixth Mtmsfer.—]on-ii G. Train, from John Street, Glasgow. Called
also to Alloa to be colleague to Mr M'Dowall. Ordained at Buckhaven,
2nd June 1874. In 1878 Mr Train was called to Port-Glasgow (Clune Park) ;
in 1 88 1 to Stoke Newington, London; in 1882 to Edinburgh (St Mary's
Free Church) ; in 1883 to Greenock (Sir Michael Street) ; in 1884 to Edin-
burgh (Eyre Place); in 1886 to Glasgow (Anderston) ; and finally to Hull
(Prospect Street). This last-named call he accepted, and the much-tried
bond between him and Buckhaven was dissolved, 2nd March 1886. After
remaining there for nearly seven years Mr Train was inducted to Upper
Norwood, London, his present charge, 15th December 1892.
Seventh Mimster.—WihhWM Shaw Stewart, from the Presbyterian
Church of Ireland. On 2nd May 1887 the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy at a
meeting in Edinburgh during the Synod week received an application from
Mr Stewart to be admitted to the status of a United Presbyterian proba-
tioner, and a memorial from Buckhaven congregation to the same effect.
It happened that a group of Buckhaven fishermen, when over one Sabbath
on the Ulster coast, heard Mr Stewart preach, and on their representation
he was brought to supply the vacant pulpit for a day, and here we have the
outcome. Being satisfied with his credentials the Presbytery, with the
sanction of the Synod, received Mr Stewart in due form, and his name was
placed on the roll of probationers. He supplied the first two Sabbaths of
the quarter at Buckhaven, and a moderation was forthwith applied for, the
stipend promised being ^250, with the manse. Then came the call, signed
by 45 1 members. The ordination followed, 27th September 1887. On 9th
December 1890 Mr Stewart accepted a call to be colleague to Dr Wallace
in East Campbell Street, Glasgow.
Eighth Minister.— \Nih\.lxu DUNLOP, from Glengarnock. Ordained,
28th April 1 89 1. The membership at the close of 1899 was 558, and the
stipend was as before---^25o, and the manse. The old church still stands,
but it has been turned into dwelling-houses.
BUCKHAVEN, MUIREDGE (Extension Church)
In June 1882 the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy, when a report on evangelistic
work was given in, adopted a suggestion about Church Extension at Buck-
haven, and agreed to ask the Home Mission Board to aid in building a hall
or iron church, with that design. In August a grant of ^^300 was intimated,
and a loan of ^400, so that the erection was to be proceeded with as soon
as practicable. There was delay, however; but on Thursday, 2nd July
1885, the church was opened, and the special services on that day and the
two following Sabbaths brought collections amounting to ^125. Prior to
this, Mr Train, who was the mainspring of the movement, had raised about
/800 for behoof of the new cause. On ist December of that year a petition
from 77 members and 88 ordinary hearers to be formed into a congregation
was granted, and Mr Train appointed to meet with the petitioners on the
1 6th, and proceed according to the Rules of the Church. In April next year
a moderation was applied for under protest, and the Presbytery in the
circumstances enforced delay.
First Minister.— ]ons BiSSETT, from Lathones. Ordained, 27th July
1886, the stipend promised being ^80. Accepted a call to Lochee Road,
396
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Dundee, on 13th February 1894. The membership when Mr Bissett left
was 180.
Second Minister. — David R. Hume, M.A., from St John's Wood,
London, but a licentiate of the U.P. Church. Ordained, 5th July 1894.
Muiredge is overshadowed by the parent church, and it may be doubted
whether there was any special call for a second iTnited Presbyterian con-
gregation at Buckhaven. The membership at the close of 1899 was about
160, and the stipend from the people ^95, without a manse.
CRAIL (Burgher)
On 3rd March 1795 a petition for sermon from 55 persons in Crail and the
neighbourhood was presented to the Burgher Presbytery of Perth, and
partial supply granted, and on i6th March of the following year 67 persons
were at their own request erected into a congregation. At the Synod in
April 1797 they were to receive ^20 to aid them with their place of worship,
if the Presbytery approved, and the church, with 300 sittings, must have
been built about that time. The Secession got an early hold of most
parishes in the east of Fife, but Crail is one of the few whose names nowhere
occur in the early records of Ceres congregation. In Kingsbarns, again,
from which St Andrews used to draw largely, the Seceders, according to the
Old Statistical History, had dwindled down towards the end of the century
to II, and in Denino to the same number. We may, therefore, look on
Crail as almost entirely a new formation. In July 1798 a moderation was
applied for, with the promise of ^65, and communion expenses paid. The
call came out for Mr John Stewart, but the Presbytery preferred Pitcairn.
Similarly, a year later, they appointed Mr Lawrence Glass to Aberdeen.
This latter call was signed by 90 members, from which we can estimate the
strength of the young cause at Crail.
First Mitiister. — WiLLiAM Fraser, son of the Rev. John Fraser of
Auchtermuchty. Ordained, 17th August 1803. At the Synod in May 1810
translating calls to Mr Fraser came up, one from West Linton and another
from Alloa (West), when transportation was agreed to first, and then Alloa
was fixed on as the place. Thus Crail became vacant, and in that state it
continued eleven years. Though they had been favoured in their first
minister the gathering up, it is to be feared, was slight, and during the
interval which followed ground was sure to be lost. After a pause of seven
years the congregation called Mr George Brown, but first he had difficulties,
and then he declined. The Presbytery had previously decided that, if the
preacher were unwilling to be settled on so small a stipend, they would use
no constraint, and the call was accordingly set aside.
Mr Brown was from Aberdeen (St Nicholas'). He was ordained at
Ramsbottom or Holcombe, in Lancashire, on 27th August 1818, a year after
declining Crail. Owing to unpleasant circumstances, which he himself has
fully described, he was loosed from that trying position in May 1829. He
then opened an Academy in Liverpool, where he remained till 1844, and on
i6th June of that year he was inducted to the pastoral charge of Brampton
English Presbyterian Church. About this time he received the degree of
LL.D. from Marischal College, Aberdeen. He resigned, 7th February
185 1. During the remaining part of his life he was largely occupied draw-
ing up in alphabetical order a list of all who had been enrolled as Secession
students, numbering 2098 in all, with brief notes of their subsequent history.
The merits of this work are remarked on in the Preface to our former
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 397
volume. The large, stoutly-bound manuscript volume is preserved in the
archives of the United Presbyterian Church. Dr Brown died at Liverpool,
15th March 1869, in the eightieth year of his age.
Second Minister.— Km^vyl Drummond, from Stirling (now Erskine
Church). Ordained, 8th August 1821. The stipend promised was only
;^7o, including everything, and the call was signed by not more than 42
members and 5 adherents. On 2nd October 1838 Mr Drummond resigned
on account of inadequate support, and the demission was accepted without
any delay. The people regretted his leaving, but could not press him to
remain, and the Presbytery testified that they had honourably fulfilled
their engagements. He emigrated to South Australia, and became minister
at Adelaide. On 15th July 1855 he retired on an annuity of j^ioo, and was
succeeded by the Rev. Peter Mercer. He died, 26th April 1872, in the
eightieth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry.
Third Minister.— ] awes Lumsden, from Freuchie. Called first on
6th Novernber 1839, but owing to sinister influences from St Andrews the
call was withdrawn. Discovering, however, that the communications which
had reached them were prompted by favour for another candidate, they
renewed their call, which was accepted, and the ordination took place, i8th
August 1840. The stipend was still ^^70, but there was now a manse and
garden in addition. Mr Lumsden preached as usual on the last Sabbath of
January, took ill on Thursday, and died on the following Monday, 8th
February 1841, in the thirty-second year of his age and sixth month of
his ministry.
During this vacancy the congregation called the Rev. Robert Paterson,
formerly of Greenloaning and Sunderland, but he waited on, and afterwards
accepted Midmar. They next made choice of a very gifted preacher,
Mr John Riddell, but he was not prepared to settle down in a fixed charge
as yet, and not till after three years was he ordained at Moflat.
Fourth Minister. — John Ogilvie, from Keith. Ordained, 25th April
1843. The call was signed by 80 members, which was still beneath their
original level. After going on for ten years he had to demit his charge
owing to distressing family circumstances, and on the same day he applied
for admission to the Established Church. This was on 29th March 1853.
Having acted for some time as assistant minister at Gamrie, he sailed
with his family for Canada, but died of fever off Cape Breton on 23rd
September 1855, in the fiftieth year of his age and thirteenth of his ministry.
Before becoming a licentiate he was mathematical master in Banff Academy,
and that was the place where he got his wife. Mr Ogilvie was a cousin of
the Rev. Dr Ogilvie of Falkirk.
Fifth Minister. — Alexander Walker, a brother of the Rev. Robert
T. Walker of Comrie, Dunfermline, and Ballarat. Mr Walker had been a
preacher in connection with the Congregational Union, but was received by
the Relief Synod in May 1847. Having previously declined a call to Keith
he was ordained as colleague to the Rev. D. C. Browning, Blackett Street,
Newcastle, 28th June 1848. A rupture having occurred in that congregation
Mr Walker with his adherents withdrew, and formed what is now St
George's Church, but he resigned on 9th September 1851, and returned to
the probationer list. During this period he declined calls to Lumsden,
Burghead, and Oban, but accepted Crail, where he was inducted, 25th April
1854. The present church, with 250 sittings, was built in 1858, at a cost of
under ^600. Mr Walker was loosed from his charge, i6th October 1877.
The congregation would have given him temporary rest, but a medical
certificate forbade all regular ministerial work. After residing in Edinburgh
for some time he proceeded to South Africa, where he assisted at
398
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Stellenbosch, Cape Colony, for six months, and then resided there till his
death on 29th January 1884, in the sixty-seventh year of his age.
Sixth Minister. — John C. Jackson, from Elgin Street, Glasgow, where
he had laboured for nine years, but now removed to a quieter sphere. In-
ducted, 19th March 1878. Was invited back to Elgin Street in 1881,
but declined. Retired from his charge, loth December 1889, preferring not
to retain the status of senior minister nor his seat in the Presbytery,
Mr Jackson at the time of the Union resided in Edinburgh.
Seventh Minister. — William Young, from Largs. Ordained, 24th June
1890. The membership at the close of 1899 was above 100, and the stipend
from the people j^io8, with the manse.
ANSTRUTHER (Burgher)
On 19th August 1817, when the Burgher Presbytery of Perth met at
Auchtermuchty for the ordination of Mr Baird, a petition from Anstruther
for sermon was renewed, coupled with the request that some of their mem-
bers would give them in their infant state a day's preaching gratuitously.
On loth March 1818 parties designating themselves "Managers of the
Associate Society of Anstruther" craved supply, and expressed the wish to
be formed into a congregation. In reply it was agreed to hold a meeting in
that place on the last of the month, when Mr Dick of Kilconquhar gave an
outline of Secession principles, and the three ministers present conversed
separately with 14 applicants for admission to Church fellowship, who were
forthwith erected into a congregation, and on 4th August three elders were
ordained. The Synod in September 1820 granted Anstruther ;^20 to aid
them in erecting a place of worship, and in February 1821 it was announced
in one of the denominational magazines that the church was built and taken
possession of.
This new formation at Anstruther absorbed a weak congregation at St
Monans, four miles to the west, which, though long in existence, had never
risen much above the rank of a preaching station. So early as May 1751
the Praying Societies in and about Anstruther and St Monans craved Ceres
session to arrange for occasional Sabbath services within their bounds.
Then in the winter of 1752 some people in and about St Monans, "a remote
corner of Ceres community," petitioned the Antiburgher Presbytery of Perth
and Dunfermline for a day of fasting and also supply of sermon. This was
backed by a paper from a considerable number of persons not in accession,
who wished preaching " in order to their instruction and information about
the Testimony of the day." The joint petition had opposition from Ceres,
though with no good grace, as that corner was distant a dozen or fifteen
miles from the ordinary place of worship. The Presbytery delayed the
matter from time to time, but in May 1753 it carried by the Moderator's
casting-vote to grant supply at St Monans as they could afford it. Against
this decision the elder from Ceres protested, and the question was put : Sist
procedure or Not? The numbers again were equal, but the Moderator
refused to give his casting-vote the second time, and there the case rested.
But in the following week a fast was observed at St Monans, and Mr
Matthew Moncrieff preached there the Sabbath after. That was the be-
ginning of supply at St Monans, and it was kept up at intervals for two
generations. In 1768 the sessions of Abernethy and Ceres were applied to
for aid in defraying the expense of purchasing a house for public worship,
and, to the credit of Ceres especially, this was agreed to. In 1774 the people
sought a grant from the Synod for the defraying of charges connected with
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 399
the meeting-house they had bulk, and for fifty years St Monans ranked in
the hst of Antiburgher vacancies without ever attempting to obtain a fixed
ministry.
In the Old Statistical History towards the end of the century the parish
mmister expressed his feelings with regard to the different sects of Seceders
withm his territories— Relievers, Burghers, and Antiburghers. They had
lately increased, he said, and owing to this the weekly collections at his
church door for relief of the poor had greatly diminished. Forgetting the
claims of the Ninth Commandment, he added : " They are always ready to
break the public peace, a flagrant instance of which they lately gave in this
comer by forming societies, which consisted, if not wholly but mostly, of
persons of these sects, for circulating pamphlets and disseminating disaffection
to King and Government by their meetings and private conversations."
Of the three sections of Seceders mentioned, the Relievers had their place of
worship at Pittenweem, the Burghers at Kilconquhar, and the Antiburghers
whom he placed last, in St Monans itself, but after the Union of 1820 they
were to meet in Anstruther. Returning now to this new Secession centre we
find that in 1822 they called Mr David Allison, whom the Synod appointed
to Stewartfield, and next year Mr Joseph Hay, who was appointed in like
manner to Arbroath. The signatures on both occasions showed between 40
and 50 members, and nearly as many adherents. In 1824 they called Mr
Alexander Shaw, a name on which we shall linger for a little, but he was
appointed to Sunderland.
Mr Shaw's sadly interesting story is outlined by George Gilfillan in his
"History of a Man." He describes him under the letters S. A. as "a man
of very considerable talent, with a florid face, wild eye, beautiful style of
language, as the simple villagers said of his sermons, much humour and
good humour too in private, but reckless, void of caution and principle, and
who ultimately died insane and a suicide." The Sunderland appointment
did not hold, as reports affecting his character got into circulation. He was
afterwards called to Newcastle, where he preached for a time without
recognition, but at last, after being admonished at the Synod's bar, he was
ordained minister of Carliol Street (now Barras Bridge) in 1830, and was
"■ for a season very popular there, though much persecuted withal." The
tragic end came within three years, and Dr George Brown gives North
Middleton manse as the place.
Ftrs/ Minister.— ]onii Thom, from Tarbolton. Ordained, 20th
December 1825. The stipend was to be ^75, including everything.
On 22nd June 1847 Mr Thom resigned his charge on account of ill-health,
and urged on the Presbytery its immediate acceptance. Commissioners
from the congregation acquiesced, and gave a satisfactory account as to
the meeting of pecuniary claims, and the Presbytery, sympathising with Mr
Thom in his affliction, dissolved the connection. He then removed to
Edinburgh, had his name for many years on the list of occasional supply,
and died, 13th February 1864, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and
thirty-ninth of his ministry.
Second Minis/er.— William Meikle, from Ayr (now Darlington Place).
The stipend was to be ^100, with ^3 for sacramental expenses, an arrange-
ment with which the Presbytery was highly satisfied. The sum was large,
considering that the call was signed by only 51 members. Mr Meikle after
some hesitation accepted, and was ordained, 27th September 1848. On
29th November 1853 he intimated to the Presbytery that he had accepted
an invitation to become minister of a Scottish congregation in Mobile,
Alabama, and was to leave this country in a few days. He also mentioned'
that in his new sphere of labour he would require to exercise prudence, he
400 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
was told, in stating his mind on the subject of slavery, and the Presbytery
in parting with him expressed the confident hope that he would continue
to maintain the Church's testimony against the sin of man holding property
in man. He ultimately removed to Oakville, Ontario, and was residing in
1899 at Toronto as a retired minister. On 29th February 1852 the present
church at Anstruther was built, with sittings for nearly 400, to which vestry
and classroom were added in 1870, the total cost being ^860.
Third Minister. ~-GABV.\-E.h Smith, from Craigs, Old Kilpatrick.
Ordained, 20th December 1854. The call was signed by 85 members, which
implies increase under Mr Meikle, but the stipend had to be reduced to
;^85, which supplement raised to ;^iio. Seven years afterwards a manse
was built, largely through the activity of the minister, there being no Manse
Scheme as yet to smooth the way. In 1866 there were 149 names on the
communion roll, and the stipend was ^100, with ^20 of supplement, and a
manse, and in other ten years, though the increase in numbers was slight,
the Augmentation Scheme raised the minister's income to £197, los., the
congregation contributing ;;^ii2, los. On 14th June 1898 Mr Smith was
enrolled minister-emeritus, resigning all claim to a retiring allowance. He
then removed to Stirling, where he has since resided.
Fourth Minister. — Andrew M'Lachlan, M.A., from Rothesay.
Ordained, 14th December 1898. The membership a year later was 138,
and the stipend from the people ^i 10. There is also a strong Free Church
congregation in the town.
LEVEN (Relief)
In the Old Statistical History the " Separatists " in Scoonie, the parish name
for Leven, are numbered towards the end of last century at 150, nearly the
half of these being Burghers, who would attend at Kennoway or Buckhaven,
between two and three miles off; 35 Antiburghers, who would cross over to
Dubbieside — that is, Innerleven ; and 34 Relievers, who would walk to Largo,
three and a half miles distant. Not till nearly forty years later had any of
these sections a place of worship in this parish, but on 8th March 1831 a
petition for sermon was presented to the Relief Presbytery of Dysart from
more than 200 inhabitants of Leven and its neighbourhood. In presenting
this paper they pleaded want of church accommodation, and stated that
they had a large and convenient place of meeting secured. Messrs Gorrie
of Kettle and Pettigrew of Dysart had broken ground in Leven some months
before, and there being every prospect of success the applicants were at
once recognised as a forming congregation. On ist September 1832 they
exchanged the hall in which they had hitherto worshipped for a church of
their own, with sittings for 650, and in the following February 230 persons
sat down at the communion table. The building cost ;^542, of which ^358
was paid with borrowed money.
First Minister. — James Vallance, from Paisley (Canal Street). At
the moderation 108 voted for Mr Vallance and 82 for Mr Pettigrew of
Dysart. The minority were not in the mood for acquiescing, and in a few
days demands came in from five different individuals to have bills paid up,
or to be relieved from money obligations. The call carried only 74 sig-
natures, and over against these there were upwards of 100 members craving
the Presbytery to withhold their concurrence. But in the Relief there was an
undue tendency to uphold the action of majorities, however slight, and the
call was both concurred in and accepted. A number of prominent names
now disappear from the records, and the congregation as yet had no strength to
PRESBYTERY OF KIRKCALDY 401
spare. But the prevailing party declared they would have the minister they
voted for, and the ordination took place, 19th February 1834. The stipend
was to be ^95 in all, with the promise of other ^6 for every 50 of increase in
the membership. This contingent element wrought badly, and ought never
to have been introduced. The enumeration was to begin at 250, and before
the end of the year the minister claimed a rise of ^6, but instead of granting
it the managers required to have the communion roll examined. In 1837
there was a like demand made, the session certifying that the communion
roll had come up to 366, but now the managers insisted on having the
genuineness of the names tested, and it does not appear that the stipend
ever rose above ;^ioi. In 1841 all ground of dispute on this point must
have been removed, as the numbers were down to 202. The Relief cause in
Leven was suffering for the self-willed spirit displayed eight years before.
The funds going from bad to worse, Mr Vallance required to grant a
discharge for all arrears, and agreed to accept whatever money might be
over after other payments were made. In this state matters continued till
22nd April 1845, when a meeting of Presbytery was summoned at his request
to receive the demission of his charge. After hearing parties they ad-
journed to meet next day at Leven to endeavour an adjustment, but as an
accommodation was desired on neither side, the resignation was accepted.
It soon appeared that Mr Vallance had good reason for hurrying on the
process, as the Presbytery were able to report to the Synod within three
weeks that he had been received into the Established Church. Before long
he was presented to the parish of Tinwald, Dumfriesshire, where he died,
6th February 1889, in the eighty-first year of his age and fifty-fifth of his
ministry.
Secotid Minister. — John Mitchell, from St Ninians. Called a Httle
before to Annan, and ordained at Leven, 8th September 1846. At the pre-
liminary vote 36 declared for Mr Mitchell and 27 for Mr Gunion, ultimately
Dr Gunion of Greenock. Even at this stage the people were much out of
tune, though the debt had been considerably reduced a little before by a
grant of ^75 from the Liquidation Board. The managers even intimated
that, if aid were not given them from Central Funds, they had resolved to
resign, and leave the affairs of the church in the hands of the Presbytery.
The Synod agreed to allow them ^30 for the first year, ^25 for the second,
and ^20 for the third, provided the whole stipend were fixed at not less than
^100, but pressure was needed to secure compliance with that condition.
Mr Mitchell remained in Leven seven and a half years, during which con-
solidating work went on, but on loth April 1854 he accepted a call to
Kirkintilloch. In November of that year Mr George M'Queen was invited
to become his successor, but he preferred Milngavie.
Third Minister. — John S. Hyslop, from Urr. The income at this time
was about ^iio a year, and that was the sum named for stipend. Mr
Hyslop was ordained, 26th June 1855, the call being signed by 158 members
and 38 adherents. In 1859 the entire debt of ^150 was cleared off, with the
help of /50 from the Liquidation Board. In 1865 a manse was built at a
cost o{ £700, of which the people raised ^445, and the Board granted ;^255.
A greater achievement was accomplished when a new church, with sittings
for 600, and built at a cost of ^2150, was opened on 20th September 1871.
The officiating minister was Dr Drummond, then in Erskine Church,
Glasgow, whose father, the Rev. James Drummond of Irvine, had been one
of the original elders, being at that time a teacher in Leven. In April 1886
Mr Hyslop, who had been requiring regular assistance for a considerable
time, intimated to the Presbytery that steps would have to be taken to pro-
vide him with a colleague. The people arranged for a retiring allowance of
H. 2C
402 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
^80, and the junior pastor was to have ;^I20, with the manse, which the
supplement would raise to ^r6o, besides a full share of the surplus. These
arrangements were sanctioned on 6th May, and Mr Hyslop removed to
Edinburgh. There was now a membership of 230, and the stipend from the
people had gradually risen to £170, with the manse.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN Reid, M. A., from Ayr (Darlington Place). Or-
dained, 17th May 1887. Mr Reid was highly spoken of when a student, but
the demands of ministerial work proved too much for him, and in a very short
time he was laid aside. A few months after his ordination, when the
Presbytery met at Buckhaven to ordain Mr Stewart, Mr Reid was not
forward to preach, as had been arranged, and it was intimated that he was
unwell. In February commissioners from the congregation represented to
the Presbytery that he had been incapacitated for five months, that the con-
gregation was suffering greatly, and that it was vain to expect he would
ever be able to resume work at Leven. There was some delay owing to
his unstrung condition, but, being so far recovered, he tendered the de-
mission of his charge, and was loosed, 15th May 1888. The congregation
soon afterwards called Mr Thomas Crawford, but he accepted Perth (East)
instead. Mr Reid, at the time of the Union, was still laid aside.
Fifth Minister. — Adam Shaw, M.A., from Whitevale, Glasgow. Called
previously to Gardenstown. Ordained at Leven, 29th January 1889. Was
loosed, 22nd November 1892, on accepting a call to Gillespie Church,
Glasgow. The membership, which had been 238 at Mr Shaw's ordination,
was now over 350.
Sixth Minister. — W. J. Patterson, from Waterbeck. Ordained, 13th
April 1893. During the vacancy before Mr Shaw's ordination it was
arranged, with the sanction of the Presbytery and his own acquiescence, to
pay Mr Hyslop a slump sum of ^320 in lieu of the ^80 a year originally
arranged for. When Mr Shaw left, the congregation was at the self-
sustaining level. Mr Hyslop, after being relieved from the responsibility of
ministerial work, regained strength, and his usefulness was prolonged for
years in the way of furnishing occasional, and very acceptable, pulpit supply.
He died, 20th September 1900, in the seventy-seventh year of his age and
forty-sixth of his ministry. Leven congregation at the close of 1899 had a
membership of 363, and the stipend was ^200, with the manse.
MARKINCH (United Secession)
In September 1831 Kirkcaldy became the seat of a United Secession
Presbytery, and at their first meeting regular supply of sermon was requested
by a number of individuals in Markinch and its neighbourhood. The
petition was granted, and the station was opened by Mr Johnston of Leslie
on the first Sabbath of November. From this time services were regularly
kept up, and expenses met with the help of occasional grants from the
Home Mission Fund. The pulpit of the parish church was very efficiently
filled at this time by the Rev. James Sievewright, afterwards D.D., but he
may not have had the hold of the people to which his able and evangelical
preaching entitled him, as he was not a visiting pastor, whether from infirm
health or from constitutional reserve. The Secession, moreover, obtained a
hold of Markinch parish at an early time, and furnished nearly one-fourth of
the membership of John Erskine's congregation at Leslie, but not till now
had an attempt been made to form a congregation in the village. The cause
making headway, a petition to be congregated was presented to the Presby-
tery on 17th June 1834 from 144 persons, and, with the sanction of the
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 403
Synod, this was done on 22nd August, when two of the neighbouring
ministers reported that they had conversed with 63 persons, and had
received disjunction lines from other 7. This was followed in a few months
by the ordination of four elders and the induction of a fifth, who had come
from the session of Alyth.
First Minister.— ^iXAAKyi. M. Halley, from Kinross (West). Ordained,
4th November 1835, ^^^ introduced on the following Sabbath by his brother,
the Rev. Ebenezer Halley of Kirkgate, Leith. The stipend was to be ^90,
with ^10 for sacramental expenses, and a manse or an equivalent as soon as
their circumstances permitted. The call was signed by 135 members and
52 adherents. The church, with between 300 and 400 sittings, was ready
for occupancy before this, and a debt of ^165 was cleared off in 1845 by the
aid of ^75 from the Liquidating Board. After being eleven years in Mark-
inch Mr Halley accepted a call to Dumbarton (High Street) on 2nd
March 1847.
Second Minister. — Robert Brown, from Falkirk (now Erskine Church).
Ordained, 28th October 1847. The call was signed by 130 members and 16
adherents. The stipend was to be ^90, with ^10 for sacramental expenses ;
but there was no manse as yet, and before that was obtained a debt of ^290
was incurred. But in August i860 Mr Brown informed the congregation
that he had raised ^195, which was to secure ^95 from the Board, and
would remove the entire burden. Ten years after this, when a new manse
was needed to meet larger requirements, he was equally considerate. A
sum of ^300 had to be raised, which, with other ^300 from the Board and
the price received for the old manse, would meet the entire outlay. For this
he became responsible, and at Martinmas 1871 he stated to the people that,
through the kindness of friends, the commodious manse, built in a better
situation, was free of debt. Mr Brown was the author of " Outlines of
Religious Instruction," which has passed through several successive editions,
and in 1876 he published his principal work : " The Fear of God in Relation
to Religion, Theology, and Reason." He withdrew from active work, 13th
June 1893, resigning all emoluments, but retaining his place as senior
minister. He then removed to Edinburgh, where he died, after a few hours'
illness, 26th March 1896, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and forty-ninth
of his ministry. When he retired the people testified how much they had
profited under his long, able, and faithful ministry. Mr Brown left, besides
his son in Auchtergaven, three sons-in-law U.P. ministers — the Rev.
J. S. Nisbet, formerly of Stromness ; the Rev. George S. Soutar, Sandwick ;
and the Rev. Robert Law, Bridge of Allan.
Third Minister.— ]onti A. Shannon, M.A., from Pollokshields. Or-
dained as colleague to Mr Brown, 19th December 1893. A new church, with
sittings for 500, was opened on Thursday, 14th April 1898, by Dr Hutchison,
Moderator of Synod. The entire cost was ;^28oo, of which all except ^600
had been previously secured. The membership at the close of the following
year was 241, and the stipend from the people ^140, with the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK
BONKLE (Burgher)
Cambusnethan was long the name of this congregation, and sometimes
Muirkirk of Cambusnethan. It became the meeting-point for the Seceders
an twenty-two parishes — West Calder, Carnwath, Symington, Dalserf,
404 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Hamilton, Old Monkland, and Livingston being at different points of the
circumference. We have no case of out-and-out Patronage in the parish
to go back on, though Mr William Craig, who was ordained, 20th April
1737, was looked on as the nominee of Lockhart of Cambusnethan. Still,
at the election he had the votes of a majority, and his call was concurred
in by about 90 heads of families. It appears, however, from a protest
adhered to by seven of the nine elders, that the settlement was considered
by a great part of the parishioners as an intrusion, and in consequence of
this an accession was given in to the Associate Presbytery on 14th June
1737 "signed by a large number of the inhabitants." On Wednesday, 3rd
August, Messrs Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine observed a Fast among them,
the latter entering in his Diary : " We had a very great auditory." At the
close they baptised 26 children, the greater part of them from Carluke
parish, where there had been an intrusion of a more offensive type in 1732.
Of the above-named Mr Craig the Fasti records that "he inculcated the
principles of morality and virtue more frequently than his audience had
been accustomed to," which may be taken to mean that he was a good
way from evangelical in his preaching. But he did not trouble Cambus-
nethan long, as he got promotion through Patronage to the West Church,,
Glasgow, in the following year.
At this time the Associate Presbytery had no preachers at command,,
and though Mr John Hunter got licence in 1738 they could never afford
to send him to Cambusnethan. But on Sabbath, i6th September 1739,
Messrs Thomson of Burntisland and Ralph Erskine preached to a numerous,,
far-gathered audience at Davies Dykes, where the first church was built in
1740, five miles east from the village of Cambusnethan.
First Minister. — David Horn, from Milnathort (Burgher). Called
also to Kilkenny, in Ireland. Ordained, 29th September 1742. In October
1743 eight elders were added to the session, two from Cambusnethan, two
from Carluke, two from Carstairs, one from Shotts, and one from Dalziel.
This made sixteen or seventeen in all. At the Breach of 1747 Mr Horn
adhered to the Burghers, and took the bulk of the congregation with him.
On 1 2th July 1768 he tabled the resignation of his charge, pleading that
he had been twenty-six years in the ministry, that he was feeling himself
in life's decline, and that the work was becoming burdensome to him owing
to the bounds of the congregation and the badness of the roads. He was
also impressed with the thought that not one-half of his people were able to
attend regularly upon ordinances during the winter season, and, if so, what
was to become of the aged and the young when visitation and diets of
examination were withheld ? He also stated that, as his family were remov-
ing to Thomanean at Martinmas, a property in Kinross-shire which had
come into his possession by his marriage, it behoved him to go with them,
and see to their welfare. The Presbytery, however, refused to receive
Mr Horn's demission on grounds like these, and he appealed to the Synod,
by whom his resignation was accepted in October, though the pastoral tie
was to continue till Martinmas. After the bond was severed Mr Horn
insisted on retaining his seat in Presbytery and Synod, pleading that by
laying down the key of doctrine he had not surrendered his rights to the
key of government and discipline. The question was argued at great
length by him in his reasons of dissent from the Synod's decision to the
contrary effect. A discourse on the text : " How can I do this great
wickedness, and sin against God?" has been pronounced equal to any
of those published by his Secession brethren, alike for ability in argument
and perspicuity of diction. He died, 13th January 1790, not at Thomanean,.
but in his house at Kirkcaldy, in the forty-eighth year of his ministerial life.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 405
On tendering his resignation Mr Horn had hinged it partly on this, that
Cambusnethan would compare with any other country congregation either
in numbers, intelligence, or unity, and that with so many promising young
men on the field it would be easy for them to find another minister. But
another minister was not found till the seventh year was nearly finished and
four unsuccessful calls had been issued. At the Synod in May 1769 the
Rev. James Moir, the first they fixed on, was continued at Cumbernauld.
A year later Mr William Ballantyne was appointed to Dundee in preference
to Cambusnethan. Next December calls to Mr George Henderson were
brought up together to Glasgow Presbytery from Cambusnethan and
Shuttle Street, Glasgow ; but the weightier charge carried, and the protest
taken by the Cambusnethan commissioners came to nothing. In May 1772
the Synod appointed Mr William Richardson to Cambusnethan in prefer-
ence to Bathgate, but he refused to be ordained, pleading the state of his
health. After the case had hung in suspense for fifteen months the Synod
decided that his settlement could not be carried out with the least hope that
it would answer the ends of a gospel ministry. Mr Richardson had given
in a representation, importing that bodily infirmity unfitted him for riding
on horseback, and he offered to produce medical authority to that effect.
This secured his release, and he was ordained soon after to Cartsdyke,
Greenock. It was another disappointment to Cambusnethan, and the
Synod thought it needful to send a committee to satisfy them as to the
setting aside of their call.
Second Minister. — William Scott, from Selkirk (First). Ordained,
2 1st June 1775. The call was opposed by 16 members, but the Synod
pronounced their opposition ill-founded, and directed the ordination to go
on. It appears, however, that, while Mr Richardson's call was signed by
486 members, Mr Scott's only mustered 344. In 1780 the church was
rebuilt, but there is nothing to show either the expense or the accommoda-
tion. The bounds of the congregation had already been narrowed in by
the formation of sister churches at Biggar and Shotts. Other disjunctions
followed at intervals in favour of Whitburn, Lanark, and Braehead ; but in
1800 there was a much more serious encroachment on the membership by
about one-third of their number, including three elders, going over to the
Old Lights, much to the advantage of Shotts and Carluke congregations.
On nth March 1811 Mr Scott resigned his charge, pleading age and the
alienation of affection on the part of his people. The congregation agreed
not to oppose the acceptance, and were to give him ^30 as a compliment,
and allow him to possess the glebe for two years. On 2nd April the con-
nection was dissolved, but the case was not ended. Certain rumours having
been inquired into, and evidence led, the Presbytery were unanimously
of opinion that the congregation had good grounds for dissatisfaction with
some parts of Mr Scott's behaviour. During her last illness his wife seems
to have been in a weak state every way, and he had been too indulgent
towards his servant in the exercise of her usurped authority. Worse still,
he had afterwards lifted the servant into the vacant place by marrying her,
a step which was fitted to bring his ministry to an end. Altogether, his
brethren found that there was enough to warrant admonition. Mr Scott
submitted at the time, but on 12th June 1812 he declined the authority of
the Presbytery, assigning as the reason their action in his case. They had
trouble afterwards from a demand he made for a certificate of membership
on behalf of his second wife. He had now removed to a property in the
parish of Carluke, which may have come to him through his deceased wife,
who had means of her own. There he connected himself with the Original
Burgher congregation, and died, 21st August 1821, in the seventy-seventh
4o6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
year of his age. A volume of his sermons was published in 1828, with a
brief biographical preface by his successor in Cambusnethan.
During the vacancy of five years which followed the congregation first
called Mr John Tindal, who was afterwards ordained at Rathillet. The
call was signed by little more than half the members, and after it had
been sustained the Presbytery stopped further procedure, alleging that it
wanted the signature of one of the witnesses. The next call came out for
Mr Daniel M'Lean, whom the Synod appointed to Coupar-.A.ngus. The
membership was down now to 246 ; whereas in the last decade of the former
century the dissenters, young and old, in Cambusnethan parish alone
numbered 614. It marks the effects of the rupture which had inter-
vened.
Third Minister. — Andrew Scott, from Lanark (Secession). The call
from Cambusnethan was signed by 224 members and 104 adherents. At
the Synod it carried over Lilliesleaf and Auchtermuchty, and Mr Scott was
ordained, 9th April 18 16. The stipend was to be £'i>o^ with manse and
glebe, and ^5 at each communion. In little more than a year he was
invited to the newly-formed congregation of Girvan, but the Synod continued
him in Cambusnethan. In 181 8 the lease of the ground at Davies Dykes
expired, and the congregation decided on removing to the little village
of Bonkle, two miles to the west. There they would be about midway
between Shotts Works and Wishaw, two places seven miles apart,
from which they drew a large proportion of their membership. Here the
new church was built, at a cost of .^650, with 560 sittings. A manse fol-
lowed, involving an expenditure of about ^500, which, with subsequent
improvements on the two buildings, raised the entire sum to .£1350. By
1843 this was liquidated, all except ^300, which was also cleared off a few
years after. In 1859 circumstances favoured the arrangement for a col-
league, the emoluments of Mr Scott to remain undiminished, with the
manse, and the junior minister to have ^100, to be raised to ^150, with
the manse, on his becoming sole pastor.
Fourth Minister. — James H. Scott, who was already under call to
Auchtermuchty (East), which, in view of something more attractive, he
declined. Ordained as colleague and successor to his father, 9th November
1859, the call being signed by 279 members and 88 adherents. Their joint
ministry lasted ten and a half years, and was terminated by the father's
death on 12th July 1870, in the seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-fifth
of his ministry. His jubilee had been celebrated five years before, when
he forbade all money gifts, receiving only congratulatory addresses. Mr
Scott published a short treatise on "The Melchisedec of the Scriptures."
It advocates the view that Melchisedec, instead of being "made like unto
the Son of God " was the Son of God Himself, and a theory which many
will deem untenable he supports with a great amount of vigorous reason-
ing. Mr Scott's third son, Mr Andrew H. Scott, died, nth December 1852,
at the close of his theological course.
The present church, built or rebuilt on the same site, with 400 sittings,
was opened by Dr Joseph Brown, free of debt, on 25th December 1878.
It cost about ^1400; but, taking the old material into account, the value
was ^300 more, and additions made to the property in the following year
amounted to a similar sum. Though there has been a large thinning out
from the extremities the membership of Bonkle congregation at the close
of 1899 was 220, and the stipend ;^i85, with the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 407
BIGGAR, MOAT PARK (Burgher)
BiGGAR early became the gathering-point for the Seceders within a wide
circle of surrounding parishes, among which Symington, Covington, and
Carnwath have prominence. For example, in March 1739 an accession
was given in to the Associate Presbytery from three elders and 23 private
Christians in the first named of these parishes. On some rare occasions
they had sermon for themselves, but in October 1742 they petitioned to
be joined to the congregation of West Linton "till a nearer united body
should cast up." At the Breach in 1747 some families in the far west
went with the Antiburghers, and their fortunes are given under Elsridge-
hill. The other and larger part kept by the mother congregation till 1755,
when they petitioned to be disjoined and have sermon for themselves. But,
though the applicants had a distance of eleven miles with which to enforce
their plea, there was opposition to be overcome, and in May 1756 the case
was submitted to the Synod. Of the two commissioners who appeared in
support of the disjunction one was from Libberton and the other from
Carnwath. On 14th June the Presbytery of Edinburgh met by directions
of Synod, and that day Biggar was recognised as the seat of a Burgher
congregation. The first church, with 450 sittings, was taken possession
of in 1760, and on 8th October of that year Mr Samuel Kinloch, afterwards
of Paisley, was called to be the first minister, but a grievous ^w«, which
proved well-founded, stopped further proceedings.
The parish of Biggar had passed through a vacancy of five years some
time before this, which ended in a way worth recounting. A Mr Haig got
the presentation, but the people were pronounced in their opposition to his
settlement. According to papers given in to the Church Courts from Dunblane
parish in a litigated cause the only objection Biggar people had to Mr Haig
was his corpulence, which rendered him unfit to go about and visit the sick."
Matters were compromised by the presentee exchanging places with Mr
John Johnston, who was admitted to Biggar on 26th September 1754, while
he himself obtained the chaplaincy of Edinburgh Castle.
First Minister. — John Low, from Kinross (West). The Synod having
preferred Biggar to St Andrews he was ordained, 30th September 1761.
The call was signed by 107 (male) members, including five elders.
Next year an attempt was made to remove Mr Low to the mighty con-
gregation of Stirling, and it was repeated some time afterwards, but the
first call was set aside by Glasgow Presbytery " because of the flame in the
congregation," and the Synod on the second occasion refused to translate,
probably for the same reason. In the latter years of Mr Low's ministry the
church was in a declining state, but the membership fell scarcely, if at all,
below 300. He died, ist November 1804, in the sixty-ninth year of his age
and forty-fourth of his ministry. His successor in Biggar, when newly
ordained, received this advice from his father : " Always speak of Mr Low
with esteem and reverence. He was a very worthy minister of Christ."
Second Minister. — JOHN Brown, son of the Rev. John Brown of Long-
ridge. There was a competing call from Stirling (now Erskine Church)
signed by 937 members, whereas Biggar had only 118 ; but the candidate's
father came forward at the Synod, and pleaded the cause of the smaller
congregation, which thereby secured a majority when the vote was taken.
Mr Brown was ordained, 5th February 1806, in the time of a severe snow-
storm, on account of which only three ministers were present. The
stipend was to be ;^9o, with manse, garden, and a small piece of ground.
Mr Brown, besides his general acceptability as a preacher, came into prominent
notice by a sermon he preached before the Edinburgh Missionary Society in
4o8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
1816. It was preceded by another publication entitled, "Strictures on
Yates' Vindication of Unitarianism," which evinced his grasp and acuteness
as a controversialist, and altogether it became manifest that Biggar was not
to be the scene of Mr Brown's life-work. In 181 7 he was called to the
newly-formed congregation of North Leith, but the Synod, in accordance
with his own wishes, continued him in Biggar, where he remained till ist
May 1822, when his translation to Rose Street, Edinburgh, was carried "by
a great majority." During his ministry in Biggar the congregation had
grown nearly one-third, drawing its members even yet from fourteen
parishes.
Third Minister. — David Smith, a native of Rattray, and brought up in
the Established Church. Having joined Miles Lane congregation, in
London, under the ministry of the Rev. Alexander Fletcher, he identified
himself with the Burgher congregation of Coupar-Angus on returning to
his native place, and during his theological course gave large aid and
encouragement to its minister in his manifold struggles. Called first to
Balfour, in Strathearn, a feeble cause which had with difficulty got con-
gregated, but when the call from Biggar was reported theirs was allowed
to drop. Ordained, 19th August 1823. The stipend was ^i 14, with manse,
garden, and the payment of house taxes. " The congregation being
scattered over the face of the surrounding country," the Presbytery granted
the moderation on condition that they would provide a horse for the
minister. In 1829 Mr Smith was called to succeed Dr Waugh in Wells
Street, London, but he had no wish to tempt the perilous position, and the
Synod decided against the translation. In 1831 the Relief families in
Biggar parish were 118, and those of the Secession only 48, but about that
time, while the former congregation gave a stipend of ^iio, the latter could
furnish ^130. In 1834 Mr Smith wrote a minute and very interesting Memoir
of his father-in-law, the Rev. John Brown of Whitburn, prefixed to his
"Letters on Sanctification," and in 1847 he rendered a like service to his
co-presbyter, the Rev. William Fleming of West Calder, in connection with
a little volume of sermons. In 1850 he had the degree of D.D. from Dart-
mouth College, New York. On 27th June 1866 a new church, with 460
sittings, and built at a cost of over ^1500, was opened by the Rev. Dr
Cairns of Berwick. Dr Smith died, 24th December 1867, in the seventy-
fifth year of his age and forty-fifth of his ministry. A volume of his Sermons
and Letters, with Memoir by his son-in-law, the Rev. David Cairns of
Stitchel, was published in 1869. Of Dr Smith's other publications the best
known is his Life of the Rev. Charles C. Leitch. The writer also recalls
with interest some striking articles of his on Botanical Theology, which
appeared in the U.P Magazine for 1848. Dr Smith's widow died in
Edinburgh on 20th March 1900, in her hundredth year.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Miles, from Leith (Junction Road).
Ordained, 7th October 1868. The congregation had previously called Mr
James H. Scott, who preferred Sanquhar (North). The stipend was ^160,
with a manse, which was worthily replaced some years afterwards, without aid
from the Manse Fund. The membership was 265, and though at the close
of 1879 it was somewhat lower, the stipend had risen to ^250. Mr Miles
died, 26th August 1893, in the fifty-third year of his age and twenty-fifth of
his ministry.
Fifth Minister. — MiLLAR Patrick, M. A., from Kettle. Ordained, 17th
May 1894. The stipend was now ^230, with manse and payment of income-
tax. Mr Patrick was loosed from Biggar, 27th June 1899, on accepting a
call to Trinity Extension Church, Ayr.
Sixth Minister. — C. Ross Lowdon, M.A., from Bank Street, Kirriemuir.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 409
Ordained, 6th March 1900. The membership at this time was 216, and
the stipend ^220, with the manse.
BIGGAR, GILLESPIE CHURCH (Relief)
This congregation originated in what a minority of the General Assembly
pronounced " intrusion of an unprecedented kind." On the moderation day
not a single signature was appended to the call. However, when the case
came up at the Assembly it was urged that there were no objections tendered,
and that four-fifths of the heritors and several heads of families had since
expressed their willingness to have the presentee settled over the parish.
With this concession to work on, it was decided by a majority of 85 to T] to
enjoin the Presbytery to go forward. The counter-motion was to proceed
anew with a moderation, giving any who had come round to the presentee's
side an opportunity of expressing this in a formal way. The dissents bore
that the 6 heritors who concurred were most of them outside the communion
of the Church of Scotland ; that the standing of the few parishioners gained
over was such that even the presentee's advocate ignored them. But on 28th
September 1780 the ordination of Mr Robert Pearson was carried through
under the protection of a troop of soldiers. An application followed to the
Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh for sermon, and sympathy with the move-
ment was so widespread that, as stated in the Old Statistical History, the
congregation in its early days drew its members from sixteen different
parishes. We find, besides, that the first meeting of session was attended by
ten elders, and a church was built in 1781, with sittings for 700.
First Minister. — Archibald Cross, from Dovehill, Glasgow. The date
of ordination cannot be ascertained, but Mr Cross got an extract of licence
from Glasgow Presbytery in January 1782, and was to preach in Biggar on
Sabbath first and the following Thursday, as if to complete his candidature.
Loosed from Biggar, 17th February 1784, on accepting a call to St Ninians.
Second Minister. — JOHN Reston, from the same congregation as his
predecessor. Mr Reston in 1783 acceded as a student of divinity to the Old
Cameronian Presbytery, but he is no more heard of in that connection. In
April 1785 he got licence from the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow, and was at
once applied for by Biggar congregation. Within three months a call in his
favour was sustained from Strathaven, but it was at once lost sight of, and
wfe infer that he was ordained soon after at Biggar. On 17th December 1793
Mr Reston abruptly resigned his charge. This step was taken with a view
to Bondgate Church, Alnwick, of which the Rev. Michael Boston had once
been minister, and which had never been in connection with the Relief.
When Mr Reston, along with his congregation, applied years afterwards to
be received into the Relief body, one of the Presbyteries reported to the
Synod that he ought not to be readmitted without rebuke for his irregular
conduct on leaving Biggar, and this was the course adopted. His circuitous
history is resumed under Carrubber's Close, Edinburgh.
Third Minister. — Robert Paterson, who had been twenty-two years
at Largo. His induction was to have been in December 1794, but owing to
a great snowstorm it had to be delayed for eight weeks. The Scots
Magazine for January 1795 says: "We have not, perhaps, since the year
1740 experienced a track of severer weather than this month has afforded.
One storm of snow has succeeded another." In February it adds: "This
month has proved equally trying and severe as the last." Mr Paterson died,
loth August 1802, in the sixty-first year of his age and thirty-first of his
ministry. His widow, Jean Boston, a daughter of the Rev. Thomas Boston
of Jedburgh, died in Edinburgh, 8th January 1821.
4IO
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Fourth Minister. — Hugh M'P'arlane, from Denny, but he seems to
have belonged to the Relief congregation, St Ninians. Ordained, 23rd
March 1803, with the promise of ^90 a year. But in July 1806 Mr M'Far-
lane was libelled before the Presbytery by his managers. Through degrading
himself, they alleged, a great part of the congregation had been scattered.
Looked at in the light of after events he may, perhaps, be credited with
mental weakness as well as with moral delinquency. But on 7th May of
that year, after being rebuked, he was placed under suspension sine die, and
his connection with Biggar was dissolved, the congregation paying over to
the Presbytery ^200 for his behoof. A year later he was restored to office,
and in 1810 the congregation of Strathkinnes wished him located among
them. In 1823 he received a grant of ^10 from the Synod. For the rest we
ai-e indebted to Hunter's " History of Biggar," which says of Mr M'Farlane :
" It became evident that his reason was impaired. He became unsettled in
his habits, and wandered from place to place, and received such gratuities
as food, money, and clothing." In these circumstances we will not be ex-
pected to know the date of his death.
Fifth Minister. — Andrew Fyfe, from Riccarton (now King Street,
Kilmarnock). Ordained, 23rd July 1807, and on 4th May 1808 accepted a
call to Dumfries (now Townhead), where he acquired unenviable notoriety.
Sixth Minister. — DANIEL M'Naught, translated from Riccarton, his
second charge, and inducted, 14th December 1808. The stipend was fixed
at ;^i2o, with a suitable house, and £2 for each communion. Mr M'Naught
died, 1st May 18 19, in the twenty-fifth year of his ministry, the congregation
having been bettered under his pastoral care.
Seventh Minister. — Hugh Gibson, from Irvine (Relief). Ordained,
1 6th May 1820. After occupying this position for fifteen years Mr Gibson
petitioned the Presbytery to loose him from Biggar, where his usefulness, he
believed, was at an end. At a congregational meeting the step he had taken
was approved of, and on 3rd January 1836 the relation was dissolved. After
remaining in Scotland for some time he emigrated to America, and officiated
first in Broadway Tabernacle, New York, a Congregational church with
which the name of Dr W. M. Taylor has been since identified. He was
inducted into Otis, Massachusetts, in the same connection, on 30th June 1840,
and was loosed on 19th March 1850. After being four years in Chesterhill,
Massachusetts, he occupied a charge in Peru, Massachusetts, and then re-
turned to Chester county again. In 1856 he lost his second wife, a sister of
Mrs Jack of Dunbar. He then went to reside with his daughter in Vine-
land, New Jersey, where he died, i8th Februar}' 1871, in the fifty-first year
of his ministry.
Eighth Minister. — James Caldwell, from Kilmarnock (King Street)..
Ordained, 17th January 1837. He was an animated preacher, but having
accepted a call to Sir Michael Street Church, Greenock, where ill-fortune
awaited him, he was loosed from Biggar, 13th May 1846.
Ninth Minister. — James Dunlop, M.A., from Irvine (Relief), a brother
of the Rev. Hugh Dunlop, Bankhill, Berwick, and of the Rev. WiUiam
Dunlop, Port-William. Ordained, 14th April 1847. The stipend was much
the same as it had been under the last three ministers. But in 1852 the
debt was hghtened to the extent of about ^200. Mr Dunlop accepted a call
to Motherwell, 12th June 1866.
Tejith Minister. — David M. Connor, LL.B., a native of Shotts parish,
but brought up in connection with Wellwynd, Airdrie. Called also to Inner-
leithen, but ordained at Biggar, 26th June 1867. A new church was opened
on 1 2th September 1878, which cost £4200, and has accommodation for 470.
The collections that day and on the following Sabbath amounted to ^222.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 411
On 14th January 1879 Mr Connor accepted a call to Govanhill, Glasgow. In
filling up this vacancy the congregation first called Mr James Gardiner, but,
deterred perhaps by the debt on the property, he remained on the preachers'
list, and soon after obtained Uddingston.
Eleventh Minister. — JOHN ScoTT, M.A., from Leith (Junction Road).
Called also to Fraserburgh, and ordained at Biggar, 27th January 1880, the
stipend being ;^2oo, with a manse, and the membership 277. In 1888 the
debt of ;^i35o which rested on the property was virtually extinguished, with
the aid of ^200 from the Liquidation Fund. At the close of 1899 there was
a membership of 241, and a stipend of .j^200, with the manse.
ELSRIDGEHILL (Antiburgher)
After the Breach the Antiburgher families about Biggar who had left
West Linton became part of Peebles congregation, from which they were
disjoined, 24th November 1754. It was not the town of Biggar, however, but
the village of Elsridgehill, four miles to the north, that was fixed on as their
centre, owing to an unpopular settlement in the parish of Walston, to which
it belonged. Of this case we can only state that the presentee, who had
been fourteen years a probationer, was ordained in May 1755, and that
during his incumbency, as stated in the Statistical History, "the congrega-
tion was dispersed, the church literally deserted, and the Lord's Supper not
dispensed for many years." After Mr Gillespie's deposition in 1752 litigation
before the Church Courts was felt to be more hopeless than ever, and the
people of Walston, who were few in number, instead of adopting that course,
sought redress from the Antiburghers. Encouraged by them they built a
small church at Elsridgehill, a village near the southern extremity of the
parish. Here those Antiburghers who had been recently disjoined from
Peebles were now to find their meeting-place.
First Minister. — JOHN ANDERSON, a licentiate of Edinburgh Presbytery.
Ordained, 28th May 1760. Of Mr Anderson little is known beyond what is
given in the inscription on his tombstone: that "he was useful in all his
neighbourhood, not only as a minister but as a surgeon, at all times ready to
act the part of the good Samaritan." In 1782 he published a volume of
" Essays relating to the present State of ReHgion." He died some time in
August 1790, in the thirty-first year of his ministry, having served his day
and generation faithfully, and, as the New Statistical History states, officiat-
ing on a scanty subsistence. But the congregation, though feeble, never
became burdensome to others, and only once do we find them receiving a
small grant of ^7 from the Synod Fund.
When the congregation fell vacant the pulpit of Walston parish had a
new occupant, and one very unlike his predecessor. Under him the
Established Church revived, and that of Elsridgehill must have suffered a
corresponding decline. In 1792 a moderation was refused, the stipend
promised being pronounced "by no means adequate." At this time the
parish minister put the Antiburgher communicants in Walston at 32, while
the Relief church in Biggar had 54, and the Burgher church 28 — the whole
population being under 500. In 1802 it was suggested in Edinburgh Pres-
bytery that Peebles and Elsridgehill should be united, as neither of them
was able of itself to support a minister. The proposal was unanimously gone
into by both congregations at first— Peebles to provide a manse, pay two-
thirds of the stipend, and have the minister's labours two Sabbaths out of
three, the sacrament to be dispensed at the two places alternately. Elsridge-
hill agreed to the terms, and besides paying the other third they were to
412
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
keep the manse in repair for the minister's accommodation when within
their bounds. The Presbytery agreed to follow out this plan "so far as
Providence would permit" ; but on fuller consideration Peebles drew back,
believing that the conjunction with Elsridgehill would be injurious to them,
and so the affair was allowed to drop. Sermon was still continued generally
at one of the two places, until Peebles, twelve miles distant, got a minister of
its own. The last notice of Elsridgehill is in the beginning of 1818, when
Mr MacEwen of Howgate stated to the Presbytery that he had preached
there on the preceding Sabbath, that the congregation consisted of 11
communicants — 3 men and 8 women — and that only 5 of the 1 1 could con-
tribute anything for the support of the gospel. Still, when they had an
approach to regular supply, there was an audience of nearly 200. The name
remained on the Presbytery list till 1820, and disappeared at the Union of
that year. The members had gradually dropped away, some joining the
Established Church, and some walking into Biggar, and in 1840 the minister
of Walston recorded that the little chapel was fast hastening to ruin.
But better days awaited the antique place of worship at Elsridgehill.
It was bought by the Free Church after the Disruption, and a preaching
station begun in the village. Having been in a very dilapidated condition
for some years it was replaced by a new church, built very much through
the exertions of the minister, and opened by Dr Thomas Guthrie on 7th
October 1870, when the collection came close on ^60. At the Union of
1900 it had a membership of 98, and the people gave a stipend of ^137, with
the manse.
LANARK (Burgher)
On nth September 1750 the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow received a
representation from the magistrates, council, and eldership of Lanark,
setting forth the melancholy situation they were reduced to by what they
called "a violent intrusion over the belly of a reclaiming people." They-
asked the Presbytery to take their case into consideration, and send one of
their number to preach to them, but the petition was coldly received, and
no action followed. It was not Patronage itself that had stirred resistance,
it was the claim of Lockhart of Lee to present to the vacant charge which
was challenged, and when he carrried his point it led to riotous opposition,
and issued in 3 women being sent to the House of Correction, and 3 men
being banished from the country for three years. At that time, however,
the Secession got a firm hold in Lanark, the adherents numbering over 100,
though no congregation was formed in the place for more than a generation.
It was on 4th October 1785 that some people in Lanark petitioned Glasgow
Presbytery for sermon, which was granted, and they were recognised soon
after as a congregation distinct from Cambusnethan. In three attempts to
obtain a minister they were unsuccessful. In 1788 a call signed by 86
members and 65 adherents was addressed to Mr David Wilson, who was
already on trials for ordination at Cumnock. They next called Mr John
Smart, whom the Synod appointed to Stirling, and Mr William Kidston,
whom the Synod sent to Kennoway.
First Minister. — Alexander Harper, from the Penicuik branch of
West Linton congregation. The stipend was to be ^60, with a free house,
and a horse was to be furnished when required. It has been said that before
a settlement was effected one of Lanark commissioners travelled twenty-six
times to Glasgow, equivalent to a journey of 1300 miles. Ordained, 22nd
September 1790. The church, with 690 sittings, was finished in the follow-
ing year. Under Mr Harper's care the congregation prospered, till, through
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 413
the Old Light Controversy, it sustained a shock from which it never quite
recovered. About 60 members withdrew at that time, and obtained sermon
from the Original Burgher Presbytery. When this ceased they would have
to amalgamate with Carluke, five miles off. In 18 10 Mr Harper, who was
apt to take a desponding view of matters, demitted his charge, assigning
two reasons — the want of adequate support and the apparent unprofitable-
ness of his ministry. To remove the first of these the congregation under-
took to make the stipend ^100, with a rise in the communion allowances,
and they were also to give ^10 for house rent as soon as their ability per-
mitted. Mr Harper thereupon, by advice of his brethren, withdrew his
resignation. It would have been well had nothing further come in to disturb ;
but, instead of this, in his latter years he had to pass through a sea of
troubles.
This introduces us to a scene of confusion and strife which brought the
oldest dissenting congregation in Lanark to ruin. Some sharp correspond-
ence had passed between Mr Harper and his managers, which widened out
till it took in the office-bearers generally, but an agreement was come to
that the letters should be burnt and the past forgotten. The case was
introduced to the Presbytery in May 1826 by a petition from 85 members,
which had been presented to the session, praying that David Ritchie be
deposed from the eldership. He had broken the covenant, they alleged,
entered into with the minister, and was incessantly setting himself to stir
up strife in the congregation. A committee appointed to bring parties to
terms failed, David stating frankly that he would not return "to the
covenant of peace." The next we hear is that the managers are withhold-
ing part of Mr Harper's stipend, preferring to expend the money on repairs ;
and, what is worse, they afterwards declared that they would not consider
themselves bound to pay any stipend at all after Whitsunday. At this stage
Mr Harper stated to the Presbytery that, though pained at the prospect of
being separated from the congregation, of which he believed the great body
to be favourably disposed towards him, yet, considering the bad spirit which
prevailed among the office-bearers, he felt inclined to demit his charge.
On the Presbytery meeting with the people the feeling seemed to be that
the pastoral tie should remain unbroken, and Mr Harper agreed to with-
draw his demission. But discontent wrought on, and in August 1827 disjunc-
tion was applied for by 134 members. In October eleven correspondents met
by appointment of Synod with the Presbytery to investigate into the aflfairs
of Lanark church, a business which occupied them two days. They
unanimously declared that the character and conduct of Mr Harper were
worthy of all approval, and that David Ritchie, as the chief cause of the
disturbance, be excluded from office and membership. One eflfect of this
decision was that on 27th December a petition for sermon was presented
by a number of the malcontents to the Original Burgher Presbytery of
Edinburgh, which was granted, and this led at last to the formation of a
congregation in that connection.
But the mother church was no nearer a peaceful state than before. At
a meeting of Presbytery on New Year's Day 1828 three of the ministers,
Mr Brown of Longridge taking the lead, declared themselves out-and-out
opposed to the deliverance at which the Synodical Committee had arrived,
and four of the congregations had up petitions for the adoption of measures
to prevent those persons, more than 100 in number, who were getting
sermon from another body leaving the Secession Church. When the case
came before the Synod in May it was agreed, with the acquiescence of all
parties, to send preachers regularly to Lanark to assist Mr Harper, but this
arrangement failed to mend matters, and in September the Synod decided
414
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to have it discontinued. At this latter meeting the Minutes bear that Mr
James Harper was heard, and it was on this occasion that he said on the
Synod floor : " I should not deserve to stand on God's green earth did I
remain silent when I believed my father to be wronged." We can under-
stand how, in the speech that followed, filial affection would mingle with
indignant warmth, and I have heard an aged minister speak of that as
the time when he first became aware of Dr Harper's superior powers. On
i8th September 1829 Mr Alexander Harper sent up his demission to the
Synod, which was accepted, and an annuity was allowed him of ^30. He
then withdrew from the scene of contention, and sought peaceful retirement
in Edinburgh, where he died, ist September 1832, in the sixty-seventh year of
his age and forty-second of his ministry.
Second Minister. — Andrew Young, who had been loosed from Loch-
maben two years before. Inducted, 30th March 1830. The congregation
must have been weakened every way by disputes and heart-burnings, and
the call was signed by only 86 members and 10 adherents. The settlement
was not auspicious. The Presbytery afterwards explained that " the call
was pushed by a resolute party, the leaders of which very soon retired into
the Establishment, leaving it to the congregation to discharge their obliga-
tions as best they might." Still, in 1836 Mr Young reported an increase of
200 communicants in six years, making 270 in all. His stipend was ^100,
with manse, garden, and ^10 for expenses. But, promising as this looked,
there was no rising to the level of true prosperity. First the stipend had to
be reduced to ^80, and then Mr Young obtained a donation of ^20 from the
Synod Fund owing to severe and protracted affliction in his family. It
ended with the acceptance of his resignation, nth June 1841, his intention
being to emigrate to America. That purpose never took effect, and he
died in Linlithgow, 19th August 1842, in the twenty-ninth year of his
ministry, his having been a chequered course from first to last.
The congregation was now at the expiring point, but they made an
additional bid for prolonged existence. Early in 1842 they called Mr James
Duncan, who declined, and was afterwards ordained at Alva. There were
now the signatures of 55 members and 22 adherents. Still, the rasping
experiences of fifteen years had not destroyed the congregation's resolve to
hold on, though they were willing to be reduced to a mission station. On
this footing sermon was kept up in the old place till loth September 1844,
when the Presbytery agreed that -it would not be expedient to ask further
supply of preachers for Lanark. " This conclusion was come to with great
hesitation and much regret." Still the people held together, and next year
the Rev. George Arnot, formerly of Crossford, occupied their pulpit, but
without ecclesiastical recognition. There was even an attempt made to
have the cause reorganised under his pastoral care, but as his ministerial
status was not attested it came to nothing. The building afterwards passed
over to the Evangelical Union, and in this connection it is well attended.
The party that withdrew from Mr Harper's ministry in 1827 and obtained
sermon from the Original Burgher Presbytery of Edinburgh built a church,
with 273 sittings, in 1829. They obtained a minister in 1831, but his stipend
was only ^60, and in three years he emigrated to Australia. He was
succeeded by Mr Peter R. Sawers, who, along with the congregation, joined
the Church of Scotland in 1839. Was translated to Newcastle in March
1840, and in the end was widely known as Free Church minister of Gar-
gunnock. The congregation after Mr Sawers left "found it expedient to
discontinue public worship," and the church stood unoccupied for years. At
the Disruption the parish minister, the Rev. William Menzies, whose be-
ginnings are given under the next heading, though a decided non-intrusionist.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 415
remained in the Establishment. It followed that the Free Church in Lanark
was comparatively weak at first, and they met in the Old Light place of
worship for a long course of years. This winds up the history of the two
parties which constituted what was once the Burgher congre'gation ot
Lanark.
LANARK, BLOOMGATE (Relief)
On 27th December 1793 ^^ William Menzies, a decidedly evangelica
preacher, was ordained minister of Lanark. The Crown in issuing the
presentation had been influenced by some leading people who had the best
interests of the parish at heart, but the fact that the bulk of the parishioners
had neither seen nor heard the presentee furnished material for the spirit of
discontent to work upon. In little more than a year this came to a point
through the young minister having secured the adoption of "the run hne"
in the service of praise. On i8th March 1795 ^ remonstrance subscribed by
100 persons was laid before the kirk session urging that " singing without
reading the line is prejudicial to many old people and the blind," and that
" the old method can be detrimental to none, and therefore ought to be
esteemed preferable by all." That paper having gone for nothing the Relief
Presbytery of Glasgow, in response to the expressed wishes of certafn
persons in Lanark, appointed them sermon on the fourth Sabbath of April,
and the adherents of the cause were recognised as a forming congregation
on 29th June thereafter. A church was opened in the following year, built
at a cost of over ^1200, with sittings for 960.
In September 1796 a call was addressed to Mr Edward Dobbie, but he
declined, and was ordained soon after at Mainsriddell. The next modera-
tion found the people in a greatly divided state, and though Mr Decision
Laing obtained a majority the call came to nothing, and Wamphray became
his first charge. In September 1798 Lanark congregation was proceeding
to procure a minister in what the Presbytery considered a lawless way.
They had invited a stranger to occupy their pulpit as a candidate, but on
applying for a moderation they were told they had acted contrary to Church
order, and could receive no countenance from the Presbytery until they
acknowledged their offence. This was met at next meeting by a penitent
letter, and Lanark congregation was thereupon " restored to the Presbytery's
care and prptection." The same case, as we assume, came up with an
altered front in June 1799, when the Rev. James Wood, Presbyterian minister
of Falstone, Northumberland, petitioned the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow
for admission. At another meeting three weeks afterwards he appeared
personally, amply certified, but several Presbyteries refused their con-
currence. Glasgow Presbytery had been informed, moreover, that Mr
Wood meant to connect himself with the Relief only on condition of
Lanark people giving him a unanimous call and also such temporal support
as he had specified. This they characterised as a shameful trafficking with
that congregation, and the case was referred to the Synod ; but that involved
eleven months' delay, and it is never again met with.*
Ft'rs/ Minister. — JOHN M'Farlane, from Canal Street, Paisley. The
call came out in December 1799, so that the negotiations with Mr Wood
* James Wood was ordained at Falstone in 1782 or 1783. Within three years of
his application for admission to the Relief he was elected to the parish of Gallon,
Glasgow, and inducted in due time. His demission was accepted, 3rd August 1803,
as he had decided to return to his former charge at Falstone, where he died, 12th
September 1815. He was described as a "judicious, eloquent, and faithful preacher."
The Rev. Dr J. Julius Wood of Dumfries was a grandson of his.
4i6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
must have been cancelled long before the meeting of Synod to which the
case was referred. Mr M'Farlane was ordained, 30th April 1800. Under
their first minister, though there is nothing from which we can gather that
he was a man of remarkable gifts, the congregation acquired great strength,
and must have overshadowed the other dissenting churches in the place.
Mr M'Farlane died, 4th June 1835, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and
thirty-sixth of his ministry. The roll of members and adherents, according
to a History of Lanark, increased in his time from 80 to 1 100, a statement
which derives confirmation from what occurred when a successor came to
be chosen.
Second Minister. — John W. Borland, from Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
The proceedings at the moderation, and the rupture which followed, are
given under Hope Street congregation, which originated at this time. Mr
Borland was ordained, 17th June 1836, and the rival candidate was placed
over the other party four months later. Before the end of the year Mr
Borland reported the number of his communicants to be about 900, of whom
nearly 200 were from Lesmahagow parish, and four-fifths of that number
from other parishes, such as Carluke, Carstairs, and Carnwath. The stipend
was ^150, and the enlarging of the meeting-house in 1830 to afford 1085
sittings had entailed a debt of £700. Some years after this the entire
debt was liquidated. Each Wednesday evening the minister had classes
for adults with an attendance of nearly 200, but that was when he had been
only a few months in office. On 30th July 1844 Mr Borland was loosed
from Bloomgate on accepting a call to a congregation in Glasgow, which
developed into what is now Gillespie Church.
Third Minister. — Peter MacFarlane, B.A., from Thread Street, Pais-
ley. Ordained, 17th July 1845. Was loosed from his charge, 4th November
1856, his health having to appearance permanently given way. He then
removed to Rothesay, where, on gradually regaining strength, he came to
be relied on for regular assistance to the Rev. Samuel M'Nab. This passed
into a fixed relationship and a long and successful pastorate. Bloomgate
congregation during this vacancy called Mr Matthew Crawford, but he
declined, and a few months afterwards was ordained over Sanquhar (South).
Fourth Minister. — John M'Luckie, from Campsie. Ordained, 4th
August 1858, and loosed, 12th December 1864, on accepting a call to the
newly-formed congregation of Uddingston.
Fifth Minister. — DANIEL M'Lean, son of the Rev. Daniel M'Lean,
Largs. Ordained for Jamaica, 23rd December 1856, and became minister
of Hampden congregation,* where he did valuable work, and where his
name is still revered. Returned home owing to failure of health in 1864,
and was inducted to Bloomgate Church, 25th July 1865. The stipend was
;^i5o, and a manse was superadded soon after at a cost of £720^ of which
the Manse Board contributed one-third. On Thursday, 21st October 1875,
a new church, with 520 sittings, was opened by Professor Cairns, when the
* Hampden was the oldest and largest of our Jamaica churches, the place of
worship accommodating over 1000. Mr M'Lean was succeeded by the Rev.
Thomas Downie, under whom the cause continued to prosper. Mr Downie was
from College Street, Edinburgh. After a pastorate of seven years in Antigonish,
Nova Scotia, he was appointed by the Mission Board to Jamaica, failure of voice
requiring a change of climate, and was inducted to Hampden on 19th April 1867.
There he laboured fourteen years, but had to retire in 1881 owing to his wife's
impaired health. The statistics for 1880 gave a membership of 755, a session of 23,
with eight week-day schools, attended by 874 children. The income for the year was
;^457, and the stipend ;^300. Mr Downie since his return home has been chaplain
, to Morningside Asylum, and is an elder in Viewforth Church, Edinburgh.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 417
collection amounted to ^324. In 1878 only a debt of ^750 remained, which
was cleared off in three years. Mr M'Lean possessed scholarly attainments,
and at the election to the Hebrew Chair of the U.P. Hall in May 1876 he
had considerable support. Some time before this he published a volume
of Expository Lectures on certain of the Messianic Psalms. He died,
7th October 1878, in the fifty- third year of his age and twenty-second of
his ministry.
Sixth Minister. — William Logan, M.A., from East Campbell Street,
Glasgow, son of Mr William Logan, a name long associated in that city
with philanthropic work and far-reaching benevolence. Ordained, loth
April 1879, having declined Wallsend and Banchory. The membership
at the end of that year was 346, being slightly under that of Hope Street,
and the stipend was £170, with the manse. At the close of 1899 there was
a membership of 461, and a stipend of ^210, and the manse.
LANARK, HOPE STREET (Relief)
At the moderation in the Relief church, Lanark, on 17th March 1836 Mr
Borland had 595 votes, while 347 were given to Mr George Johnston.
Alongside of the call, which came up to the Presbytery with about 900
signatures, including adherents, there was a petition with about 700 names
praying to be received as a forming congregation. This was at once agreed
to, the Presbyter>' no doubt considering that a church with a membership
of 1 100 could well afford to divide. The minority met at first in the United
Secession place of worship, which they filled to overcrowding, and of which
they had the occupancy each Sabbath from 2 to 5-30, but they proceeded at
once to have a church built for themselves, with 800 sittings, of which the
foundation stone was laid, 26th July.
First Minister. — GEORGE JOHNSTON, from Duns (South). Ordained,
3rd October 1836, the stipend to be ;^I20. A debt of .^700 on the building
was long a heavy burden to the congregation, but the Liquidation Board
reported to the Synod in i860 that it was entirely cleared away. The
membership at this time was 300, consisting, with few exceptions, of working
people, but by hearty and combined exertions according to their ability
they had raised ^^500. All that remained now was to claim and receive the
^200 promised by the Board, and the work was crowned by a thanksgiving
service on the communion Monday. Mr Johnston died, 13th June 1878,
in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-second of his ministry.
Lanark Presbytery testified in their Minutes that "he was a man who
possessed great vigour of understanding, strength of judgment, and clear-
ness of apprehension " ; that "he was mighty in the Scriptures"; and that
" his discourses were always marked with strong sense, if not with great
beauty, and, while they took a wide range, they never lost sight of the
Cross."
Second Minister. — WiLLlAM W. Dawson, from Kent Road, Glasgow.
Ordained, 27th February 1879. Mr Alexander of Douglas presided, and
gave the charge to the minister in long lines of blank verse. The address,
which passed into print, takes in the whole round of ministerial duty, and
evinces remarkable command of harmonious numbers. The membership
at this time was 305, the roll having been recently purified, and the stipend
was ^200, including house rent. In 1884 the building of a manse was pro-
ceeded with at a cost of ^800, the Board furnishing one-fourth. At the
close of 1899 the membership was 320, and the stipend ^180, with the
manse. The two congregations in Lanark have gone on for upwards of
II. 2 D
4i8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
sixty years side by side, but Bloomgate has for the most part, though not
always, kept the lead both in numbers and in resources.
BRAEHEAD (Burgher)
On 24th April 1798 some people about Carnwath Muir, members of Long-
ridge congregation, applied to the Burgher Presbytery of Stirling and
Falkirk for sermon, and Mr Brown, their minister, was to preach to them
on an early Sabbath. On Sth June another petition to the same effect came
up from 153 persons, mostly heads of families, in the muirlands of Carnwath
and Carstairs, but not yet in communion with the Secession. The com-
missioner was John Shaw, a farmer in the locality, and the design of the
whole movement was the formation of a new congregation. Though Mr
Brown and his session intimated their hearty concurrence, the Presbytery
had difficulties owing to a station having been opened a year before at Carn-
wath, "which was likely to be essentially injured by the erection at Brae-
head." A coalescence was now advised, Carnwath people being told that
they should "rather join Braehead than overstrain themselves." This was
agreed to, and that same year a church was built at Braehead, with accom-
modation for 500, very much through the exertions of William Sommerville,
Esq. of Coven Hill. In June 1799 the young cause was strengthened by
the annexation of 21 members from Cambusnethan Church, and in Novem-
ber a moderation was applied for, the stipend promised being ^70, with a
house or ^10 instead It was also stated that they contemplated taking
a piece of ground for a glebe large enough to keep a horse and two cows,
and, on condition that this should be given gratis to the minister, the
moderation was granted. The result was a call, signed by 143 members and
179 adherents, to Mr James Blackwood, but the Synod in May appointed
him to Galston. This was followed a year later by a call to Mr William
Smart, but Paisley was assigned him as a more befitting field of labour.
The regular hearers signing the call in this case were 208.
First Minister. — William Horne, from Falkirk (now Erskine Church).
Ordained, 21st September 1802, and laboured on in Braehead for thirty
years. But by this time the members of the congregation residing in the
Dale, as it was called, were tired of the long journey to Braehead on Sabbath,
and erected a church at Carnwath. Their wish was to have this made the
centre of the congregation, a proposal to which the people in the upland
division would not agree. The Presbytery suggested to have unity pre-
served by keeping both Braehead and Carnwath under Mr Home's ministry,
the services to be regulated according to situation and circumstances.
Parties were met with, but the recommendation was rejected, though Mr
Fleming of West Calder laid before them "every consideration that was
fitted to induce acquiescence." On i6th October 1832 a petition from two
elders and 41 members to be disjoined from Braehead along with their minister,
and formed into a congregation at Carnwath, was granted by the Presbytery.
Second Minister. — ^JOHN M'Lellan, from Broughton Place, Edinburgh,
but a native of Perthshire. Ordained, 27th August 1833. The call was
signed by 117 members and 41 adherents, and the stipend was the same as
before— ^70, with manse, garden, and glebe, the people reserving their
right to the plot of ground for a tent at the communion. In 1845 the present
church was built at a cost of ^378, exclusive of old material. The member-
ship at this time was slightly over 200. That year ^350 of the expenditure
was met, with the aid of ^100 from the Liquidation Board, and what of debt
remained on the property, part of it from former days, gradually melted
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 419
away. On 4th November 1845 Mr M'Lellan demitted his charge, having
accepted an appointment to go to Australia under the Mission Board. On
the 1 8th the demission was accepted, but he was wishful to occupy the
pulpit till it was time to leave, and the kind offer was welcomed by Presby-
tery and congregation. America, however, became his destination, and on
1 8th May 1847 he was inducted as minister of Detroit, Canada West. He
died there, 23rd October 1876, in the seventy-second year of his age and
forty-fourth of his ministry.
During the vacancy which followed there were two anomalous calls
issued. At a Presbytery meeting in March 1846 a moderation was applied
for, which issued in a formal invitation to Mr M'Lellan to settle down anew
at Braehead, with the same provision as before, it being understood that the
appointment to Australia had lapsed. It turned out, however, that though
the call was technically unanimous a want of harmony prevailed, and,
Mr M'Lellan having intimated to the Presbytery his resolution not to
accept, permission was given to withdraw it. A year afterwards the con-
gregation cut before the point by calling Mr Robert Anderson, a Relief
preacher, though the union between the two denominations was not yet con-
summated. The call, none the less, was sustained without difficulty by the
Presbytery, but was declined, and Mr Anderson became colleague and
successor to his father at Kilsyth.
Third Minister. — Alexander Banks, M.A., from Saltcoats (now
Trinity Church), a brother of the Rev. James Banks, then of Paisley. Or-
dained, 1 8th January 1848. The call was signed by 154 members, which
was 38 more than on last occasion, and there were also 59 adherents. The
stipend from the people was the same as it had been from the beginning —
;^7o, with manse and glebe, but a supplement of ^15 was expected from the
Synod Fund. In the latter part of Mr M'Lellan's time the membership,
which rose as high as 230 in 1837, declined considerably, owing in part to
the stoppage of the Wilsontown Ironworks, but under Mr Banks there was
a marked turn of the tide, and about the year i860 the names on the com-
munion roll numbered 264. The funds, moreover, yielded a stipend of ^120
or ^130, besides expenses, so that the supplement looked for was not
required. The old manse was replaced in 1866 at a cost of ^800, of which
^500 was raised by the minister or the people, and ^300 came from the
Board. But within the last three dozen years old sources of supply have
been cut off by the formation of churches round the old outskirts of the con-
gregation, such as Forth and Wilsontown, Haywood and Auchengray. The
membership at the close of 1899 was no, and the stipend from the people
^70, the same as in former days.
ROBERTON (Relief)
In the Old Statistical History Roberton appears as a parish which had been
annexed to the neighbouring parish of Wiston in 1772, The sparseness of
the population suggested a measure of this kind, but the suppression was
none the less distasteful to the parishioners generally, besides causing them
inconvenience. In 1786 a minister was ordained over the united parish, who
is described as having been unpopular in the pulpit and unamiable out of it.
This prepared the way for an accession to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow
on 14th August 1799, and the opening of a station at the village of Roberton
on the first Sabbath of September. The Rev. James Hall of Rose Street
Secession Church, Edinburgh, is said to have broken ground at Roberton in
the dissenting interest prior to this, but through the influence of several
420 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
families connected with Biggar Relief church, nine miles off, for whom
Roberton would be more convenient, application was made to that body for
sermon, and in 1801 a church was built, with sittings for 400.
First Minister. — George Campbell, from Greenock, but not Sir Michael
Street, as is stated in Dr M'Kelvie's Annals, that congregation not being in
existence till 1806, whereas Mr Campbell was ordained, 12th May 1802. He
had probably been brought up in the Established Church, but he acceded to
the Relief when a student, and obtained licence from Glasgow Presbytery.
In 1808 he received a call to Newlands, but the people failed to send com-
missioners for its prosecution, and it lapsed. Situated in a pastoral district,
the congregation never became numerous, and in 1834 the parish minister
put the number of dissenting families within his bounds at 42, while the
stipend he believed to be not over ^40. To this it was answered that the
^80 promised at first had b^en raised to ^100 since then, besides manse
and glebe. Mr Campbell died, i6th November 1847, in the seventy-eighth
year of his age and forty-sixth of his ministry. His son, the Rev. George
O. Campbell, was latterly minister of Arthur Street, Edinburgh, and one of
his daughters was the mother of the Rev. William Morison, Rosehall,
Edinburgh.
Second Minister. — Robert D. Scott, from Sir Michael Street, Greenock.
Ordained as colleague to Mr Campbell, 15th April 1845. The Presbytery
in reporting his ordination to the Synod added that aid would be required
by this congregation with its two ministers, and the grant was fixed at £,20
a year. After the death of Mr Campbell it became self-supporting, and con-
tinued so till, under the Augmentation Scheme, it was included in the list of
supplemented churches. For a number of years about this time the com-
munion roll kept slightly under 120, but with a tendency to decline, and the
people furnished a stipend of ^87, los., which was raised from other sources,
including ^40 from the Ferguson Bequest, to ^197, los., besides the manse.
In 1889 Mr Scott, under advancing years, had to be provided with a colleague,
but was to have the occupancy of the manse. He died, loth January 1894,
in the seventy-fourth year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. His
life at Roberton was portrayed in next month's magazine by a lady's pen, as
we infer both from the style and the initials. She testified that they were no
common sermons that were preached at Roberton to the farm folks and
summer visitors, and tells how hearers came from Tinto's broad shoulders
and along the meadows from Lamington and Abington. She added : "It
is a beautiful life that is now closed, and a consistent one ; lived in daily and
hourly view of the villagers, yet losing neither power nor dignity from its
familiar intercourse."
Third Minister. — Thomas W. Paterson, from Carnwath, a family name
of long standing in that congregation. Ordained, 30th July 1889, as col-
league and successor to Mr Scott. Roberton, like so many churches in rural
districts, had been for years on the declining scale, so that the membership
was now under 100, and the people had their portion of the stipend reduced
to ^50. On i8th September 1900 Mr Paterson was loosed from Roberton
on accepting a call to Mid-Calder. Even under a young and vigorous
ministry the congregation had declined to 90 ; but the funds had improved
so that they furnished £j2) of stipend instead of ^50, and ^30 for missionary
and benevolent purposes besides. The population of the parish, which was.
940 in 1 83 1, had now decreased to a little over 400.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 421
CLIMPY (Relief)
WiLSONTOWN is a village in Carnwath parish six miles N.N.E. of Carnwath
village, where the parish church stands. It was a flourishing place in the
year 1808, with a population of over 2000. Climpy is situated about a mile
to the north-west, and a letter, of date 6th August 1808, from George Craw-
ford, Esq., the proprietor, to the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh, explains
the origin of the congregation there. The writer states that he had, at least,
150 families employed upon his estate, consisting of miners, lime-workers,
and labourers, that owing to the distance from the parish church he had
built a place of worship for their accommodation at his own expense, which
he wished the Presbytery to appoint one of their number to open as soon as
convenient. This was big with promise which never reached fulfilment.
First and only Minister. — JOSEPH PURDIE, from Peeblesshire. Called
unanimously by the proprietor and the congregation of Climpy, as the
Edinburgh Advertiser put it, and ordained, 17th April 18 10. The stipend
was to be ^100, with house, garden, four and a half acres of ground, ^4 for
each communion, and ten tons of coal in the year. The paper was signed
by 39 persons, some of them women, and among the names of the nine
managers is that of George Crawford of Climpy. The collapse was sudden
and complete. Owing to the stoppage of the Wilson town Ironworks upwards
of 100 families were discharged the week after the ordination, and the
greater part of these were connected with the new church. The proprietor
now came in with a claim for ^900 to repay him for his outlay, and wished
the managers to sign a bill owning obligation to that extent. This was not
agreed to, and when bankruptcy ensued the building and glebe were brought
to the hammer, which " lessened the respectability of the Climpy church."
In less than three years, owing to failure of trade and the draining away of
population, the stipend was more than ^100 in arrears, and on 23rd February
1813 Mr Purdie, believing the cause to be hopeless, resigned. He stated
that not more than 20 or 30 had been in attendance since the works stopped,
and that sermon was regularly kept up at Wilsontown by other parties, so
that Climpy church might be dispensed with. At next meeting, on 30th
jMarch, no commissioner appeared, and Mr Purdie was loosed from his
charge. All we know further is that Mr Wood, formerly minister of the
Antiburgher church at Rattray, went over occasionally from Bathgate to
conduct Sabbath services at Climpy about the year 181 7. In 1863, when
I was located in the district, the deserted walls were all that remained of
what was once a Relief church. Mr Purdie was inducted into Pittenweem,
his second charge, in July 1814.
DOUGLAS (Burgher)
This name appears only once in the early records of the Secession. This
was on 2 1 St July 1741, when some persons in Douglas adhered to a former
accession from the neighbouring parish of Lesmahagow. But the hold
seems to have been lost ere long, and in the list of twenty-two parishes,
whose names appear on the Cambusnethan baptismal roll, we look in vain
for that of Douglas. In 1785 a petition for sermon was presented to the
Antiburgher Presbytery of Glasgow from 15 persons in Douglas, but this
came to little. In 1793 the parish minister reported the Seceders within his
territories to consist of 3 Antiburghers and 40 Cameronians. The next
move came from the Burgher side in 18 10, when the Presbytery of Lanark,
understanding that there was an opening at Douglas "for the introduction
422 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of the glorious gospel," appointed Mr Brown of Biggar to preach there a
Sabbath in the course of that summer. In 1815 evangelistic operations were
resumed. Young men of mark followed in the early part of 18 16, and the
Secession cause got a hold of that old Covenanting centre, which it has
never lost. In March of that year a petition from a number of people,
" friends of evangelical religion in Douglas," expressed gratitude for services
already given them, and in July they requested supply once a fortnight. On
Tuesday, 2nd December, they were formed into a congregation with a
membership of 32, and in May following elders were ordained. In the
summer of 181 7 they were requiring aid in the erecting of a place of worship,
with 360 sittings, and they twice obtained a donation of ^10 from the Synod.
In May 18 19, when a moderation was applied for, there was a membership
of 70, and the stipend was pressed up by the Presbytery to .^100, which was
certain to overtax their resources.
First Minister. — John Jamieson, from Tarbolton. Ordained, 22nd
August 1820, so that at the Union of the two great branches of the Secession
Mr Jamieson was the Benjamin of the Burgher Synod. A year after this
the Supreme Court granted ^10 to Douglas for the erecting of galleries in
the church. This spoke of enlarged attendances, and in 1840 the Debt
Liquidating Board reported a membership of nearly 170. A debtof;!^275
they were clearing off at this time, the people raising by their own exertions
half the sum required. But a Free church was organised in Douglas a few
years after, and in 1848 the number of communicants was down to 140, the
stipend from the people being ^65, with a manse and a supplement of .1^30.
On 3rd November 1863 Mr Jamieson, owing to age and infirmity, tendered
his resignation, which was accepted, the people testifying to his long and
faithful labours among them. They also agreed to pay him ^^30 a year, of
which he relinquished ^5 soon after. He died at Berwick, 6th November
1874, in the eighty-eighth year of his age and fifty-fifth of his ministerial
life.
Second Minister. — James Ronald, from Cambridge Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, 3rd January 1865. The call was signed by 87 members and 41
adherents. Mr Ronald accepted a call to Annan on 5th December 1871,
leaving Douglas with a membership of 112, and a manse considerably im-
proved with the aid of a grant under the Manse Scheme. In March follow-
ing the congregation called Mr John Elder, who declined, and afterwards
obtained Busby. The stipend from the people was now to be ^50, besides
the allowance to the retired minister. This, with £,bo of supplement and
^40 from the Ferguson Bequest Fund, would make ^150, besides the manse
and what the surplus might yield. Next they called Mr James Drummond,
but openings of a more inviting kind presented themselves, and Alexandria
became his choice.
Third Mittister. — Al.¥JS.Ai:iD'ER C. Alexander, from Lochee. Or-
dained, 19th December 1872. In this quiet sphere Mr Alexander was to
mature for work of a weightier kind, and on 14th August 1883 .he accepted
a call to Stoke Newington, London, where he was labouring at the time of
the recent Union, with a stipend of ^450.
Fourth Minister. — Robert D. B. Gemmell, M.A., son of the Rev.
Robert Gemmell, Arthur Street, Edinburgh. Ordained, 29th April 1884.
At the close of 1899 the members were returned at 91, and the stipend from
the people was ^55, and the manse. As the population of Douglas parish is
not much over 2000, with a Free church in the village and another at
Douglas Water, decided increase is not to be expected.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 413
CARNWATH (United Secession)
Accessions to the Associate Presbytery from this parish date as early as
17th June 1 74 1, the day of Mr Clarkson's ordination at Craigmailen, when
16 persons from about Henshelwood wished to be placed under his pastorate
till such time as Providence should favour them with gospel ordinances more
conveniently situated. Cambusnethan, at a later period, had a branch of its
membership from the western division of the parish. After a Burgher
church was commenced at Biggar the families from about Carnwath village
gave attendance there, involving a Sabbath day's journey of fourteen miles
going and returning. This continued for nearly forty years, but on 30th
May 1797 certain persons from Carnwath, not of the Secession communion,
applied to the Burgher Presbytery of Edinburgh for sermon. Biggar session
on being consulted declined to give positive concurrence, but they would not
oppose temporary supply, which was accordingly granted. This was followed
in September 1 798 by Biggar session referring to the Presbytery an applica-
tion for disjunctions from a nuAiber of their members residing in Carnwath,
while the managers represented that, if these families were disjoined, they
would be unable to pay their minister the stipend promised. The case
having been referred to the Synod it was decided that to withhold disjunc-
tions would not be to the advantage of Biggar congregation, and the session
was instructed to grant them on arrears of seat rents being paid up. But
instead of Carnwath being made the seat of a Burgher congregation Brae-
head got the preference by a counter-movement, and thither the families
about Carnwath had to resort for gospel ordinances, the distance being
about three miles.
While matters were in this transition state an attempt was made to
originate a Relief church in the village, and sermon was kept up in that
connection from 1798 to 1801, when supply was discontinued. Dissent
seems to have had no further foothold in the place for a generation, but in
September 1831 the Original Burghers opened a preaching station there,
and after going on for a year 45 persons petitioned to have sermon continued,
representing, however, that they could not pay the preacher more than los.
each Sabbath. On 26th February 1833 the Presbytery withdrew supply, as
the people found it impossible to support the gospel. But the United
Secession congregation was now working its way into existence, to take
deeper root, and retain permanent possession. In 1832 the families that had
travelled so long up the heights to Braehead erected a place of worship in
their own village, with its 800 inhabitants, and on 4th September they
petitioned Lanark Presbytery to have the seat of the congregation trans-
ferred thither. After this proved impracticable the families from about
Carnwath craved to be disjoined from Braehead along with their minister
and formed into a distinct congregation. Those in the northern division
now stated that to all appearance they would be unable to support Mr Home
if the Carnwath families were permitted to withdraw, while the petitioners
declared they would do all in their power to provide him with a suitable
maintenance. The minister thereupon expressed himself in favour of being
transplanted, and the disjunction, as is stated more fully under Braehead,
was agreed to on i6th October 1832.
Disputes about money matters gave trouble for some time, but, worse
still, Mr Home in a few months found his situation in Carnwath so dis-
couraging that he demitted his charge. Commissioners from the congrega-
tion appeared at next meeting, on 2nd April 1833, and expressed strong
affection for their minister, but confessed their inability to remove the cause
of his resignation, and he on his part, though his attachment to his people
424
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
was unchanged, had firmly resolved to emigrate, as he knew it was beyond
their power to afford him adequate support. Thus amidst mutual regrets
the connection was dissolved, and Mr Home sailed for Canada. Next year
he was settled in Caledonia, Indiana, where he remained till October 1848.
He then retired under heart disease to his son's house in Yorktown,
Delaware County, and died suddenly on 17th December following, in the
seventy-first year of his age and forty-seventh of his ministry. Dr Scouller
states that he had just finished writing a magazine article on The Use of
the Moral Law, which was afterwards published, when he breathed his last.
Carnwath congregation, having taken some time to gather up anew,
called Mr John Inglis, promising a stipend of £ySi including a house and
sacramental expenses, but having ascertained that Mr Inglis had accepted
Hamilton they went no further.
Second Minister. — James Barrie, from Perth (Wilson Church). Or-
dained, 2nd September 1835. In August 1844 a question about reuniting
Carnwath and Braehead came before the Presbytery from the Debt
Liquidating Board. A year before this Mr Barrie had stated to his brethren
that he was willing either to continue in his charge or demit, as might be
thought best. The congregation now sent in a Minute, expressing their
aversion to any change in present arrangements. It was true, they ex-
plained, that the two churches were not more than three miles apart ; but
a large number of Carnwath congregation were double that distance from
Braehead, and a larger proportion of Braehead congregation were still more
remote from Carnwath. Mr Barrie now fell back on his former offer, but
he was recommended to remain in his present charge, and the affair closed
with a grant of ^100 from the Board, which enabled the congregation to
clear off their entire debt of ^240, and make a fresh start. Their worthy
minister died, ist February 1864, in the sixty-second year of his age and
twenty-ninth of his ministry, after a long period of declining strength.
Third Minister. — John Blair, from Biggar (now Gillespie Church).
Ordained, 6th September 1864, the stipend to be ^85. In 1865 the present
commodious manse was built at a cost of ^862, the Board allowing ^275.
At the close of 1899 the membership was 94, and the stipend from the
people ^80, with some slight allowances. In 1880 Mr -Blair published a
beautiful and touching Memoir of his only child, a remarkable boy, early
left motherless, who died after a brief, sharp illness in his tenth year.
CROSSFORD (United Secession)
This village is in the parish of Lesmahagow, and about five miles from
Lanark and Stonehouse, old centres of the Secession. On 20th July 1829 a
petition signed by no persons in Crossford and its neighbourhood was laid
before the Secession Presbytery of Lanark. Not one of the petitioners
belonged to the denomination, but they wished to have sermon for a few
Sabbaths by way of experiment. Notice was given to the sessions of
Lanark, Stonehouse, and Cambusnethan, and also to that of Blackswell,
Hamilton, which still retained some hold of the district. Of these, the first
and the last offered no objections, while Stonehouse cordially approved,
though they believed the movement would diminish their numbers. Cam-
busnethan also desired the petition to be granted, though more than 20
of their members were nearer Crossford. Accordingly, services were begun
on the fifth Sabbath of August, and after that there was regular supply.
Lanark congregation was in trouble at the time, and the names of the
commissioners indicate that several of the dissatisfied became leaders in
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 425
the new formation at Crossford. On the first Sabbath of April 1832 the
place of worship, built at a cost of ^350, was opened, with 350 sittings, and
next day 49 members were congregated.
First Minister. — GEORGE Arnot, from Inverkeithing. Ordained, 6th
August 1833, a call from Whitehaven having been set aside. In the absence
of the minister appointed to preach the Rev. Ebenezer Brown of Inver-
keithing took his place. The stipend was to be ^80, with the promise of a
house and sacramental expenses as soon as in their power. Much was
expected of the young minister, but within four years a meeting of Presby-
tery was called to deal with him about an act of serious self-forgetfulness
when assisting at Mid-Calder communion. Confession was followed by
rebuke and suspension, but at next meeting 142 members and 104 adherents
petitioned for Mr Arnot's restoration. The request was granted, ministers
and people making large allowances for physical or nervous weakness, and
all inclining to hope for the best. But in October 1839 a like charge was
found established. A pledge of entire abstinence for the future was
offered, but a paper from the elders and managers declared that their
minister's usefulness was at an end. Amidst Presbyterial negotiations
Mr Arnot expressed his willingness to resign, but when his brethren took
him at his word and dissolved the connection he appealed to the Synod.
When the case came before the Supreme Court there was a petition forward
from 76 members in favour of his continuance in his charge, and another
from 71 against it. On 17th June 1840 the protest was dismissed, the com-
missioners having previously engaged to raise a subscription for Mr Arnot's
benefit. He was afterwards restored to his status as a preacher, and had
charge of a shattered cause in Lanark for a time. He finally acted as a
teacher about Inverkeithing, and died there, i6th April 1861, in the sixty-
first year of his age. In 1845 Mr Arnot pubHshed his " Theocracy of the
Bible," a series of letters to an East Lothian proprietor, the author of a rude
all-sided attack on Christianity. The latter book found its way to Kinness-
wood nearly sixty years ago, but I have never seen nor heard of it since.
Second Minister. — Sloane S. Christie, from Belfast. Ordained, 5th
May 1841, having preferred Crossford to Letham. The membership must
have suffered by recent convulsions, but the call was signed by 105 members
and 30 adherents, and the stipend was the same as before. The magazine
in reporting the ordination added that Springbank Cottage had been pur-
chased for a manse, and that Crossford, like the orchards around, was again
appearing in blossom. But Mr Christie died, 7th May 1842, his ministry
having lasted only two days beyond a year. There was now a longer
vacancy, and the stipend instead of ^80 was to be ^70, with the manse and
garden. The first call came out for Mr Thomas Pearson, who was already
on trials for Galston, but afterwards accepted Eyemouth.
Third Minister. — Alexander D. Kininmont, from Broughton Place,
Edinburgh. Ordained, ist November 1843, having declined Broughty
Ferry. In 1845 the debt of ^190 was cleared off, with the aid of ^90 from
the Liquidation Fund. Mr Kininmont was loosed from his charge, 26th
June 1849, on accepting a call to Kirkgate, Leith.
Fourth Minister. — John Weir, from Cumnock. Ordained, 24th April
1850. The call was signed by no members and 27 adherents, and the
stipend from the people was ^75, which was raised by supplement to ^100,
but without a house. Mr Weir when a probationer preached with popular
effect, and it was to be expected that Crossford would prosper under him.
We find accordingly that in the course of a dozen years the debt of .^233,
incurred, it is presumed, in obtaining a manse, had been removed, with the
aid of ^75 from the Board, and the name was dropped from the list of
426
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
supplemented congregations. It happened, however, that about this time the
current of Mr Weill's official life was disturbed, and, though he continued to
hold his post for another dozen years, his resignation was accepted on 8th
June 1875. The membership at this time was nearly 200, though the con-
gregation was not prepared to promise his successor more than £82 of
stipend. Mr Weir, whom the bequest of a wealthy lady had placed in easy
circumstances, now went to reside at Kilmaurs, where he was available for
pulpit supply. Later on he removed to Ayr, where he joined the member-
ship of Cathcart Street Church. He died, 13th August 1900, in the seventy-
ninth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministerial life.
Ftf/A Minister. — John Pringle, B.A., son of the Rev. Dr Pringle,
Auchterarder, which implies that he was trained to scholarship from his
earliest days. Ordained, 5th January 1876. Like so many other country
congregations Crossford has declined in numbers since then, though the
funds have improved. The membership at the close of 1899 was 135, and
the stipend from the people ^95, with the manse.
CARLUKE (Relief)
The parish minister of Carluke from 1763 to 1812 was Dr Scott, a Moderate,
and something more. It has, at least, been stated that when Mr Walker,
afterwards of Carnwath, was ordained as his successor he found that one
direct fruit of his ministry was the existence of a small Unitarian Society in
Carluke.* Since 1818 Dr Wylie had been the minister, whose sympathies
were with the Rev. John M'Leod Campbell at the time of the Row Contro-
versy. In reply to an application from Carluke to the Relief Presbytery of
Glasgow on 4th September 1832 Mr Harvey of the Calton was appointed to
preach there on Sabbath week. The large audiences gave promise of success,
and on 6th November the petitioners were received as a forming congregation.
At the laying of the foundation stone of the new church there was a document
deposited, from which we learn the reasons assigned for leaving the Church
of Scotland. Besides general corruption they complained of the civil
magistrate's interference with matters purely spiritual, and emphasised the
grievance of Lay Patronage. The church was opened on 17th November
1833 by the Rev. Peter Brown of Wishaw. It was seated for at least 770, but
the cost is not given.
First Minister.^ h.UE& Jarvie, from Anderston, Glasgow. Ordained,
28th October 1834. At the moderation the voters were much divided, there
being for Mr Jarvie 103 ; for Mr Alexander Watson, afterwards of Dron
and Newburgh, loi ; and for Mr James Hamilton, afterwards of Largo, 36.
Under the Relief system there was no second vote, so that Mr Jarvie was
declared chosen. The stipend was to be ^100, with ^^5 in name of expenses.
On 28th March 1837 Mr Jarvie accepted a call to Kelso (East).
Second Minister. — Alexander Neilson, from John Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, nth October 1837, having decHned Castle-Douglas some time
before. In the early part of 1839 the membership was given as not under
500, and the stipend was ^110. At this time the Original Burgher con-
gregation in the place, which was older by thirty years, had only 320 com-
municants. On 8th June 1869 Lanark Presbytery appointed supply for
Mr Neilson's pulpit, as a letter from him bore that he was seriously ill.
Their next meeting was at Carluke on his funeral day. He died, 21st
August, in the sixtieth year of his age and thirty-second of his ministry.
* British and Foreign for 1857, p. 867.
PRESBYTERY OF LANARK 427
Third Minister. — J. R. HOUSTON, from Dysart, where he had been
ordained nearly eight years before. Inducted, 28th June 1870. At the
moderation fully a third of the votes went to the Rev. James Allison, then
of Oxendon, London, but the call was signed by 368 members. In the
beginning of 1873 Mr Houston decHned North Richmond Street, Edinburgh,
but on 9th October 1877 he accepted a call to the recently-formed con-
gregation of Greenfield, Govan.
Fourth Minister. — Andrew Alston, translated from Govanhill,
Glasgow, his second charge, which he had held for only fifteen months. In-
ducted, 30th April 1878. Here he had a large, well-compacted congregation
to work with, and a stipend of ^300, and a manse. The membership at the
close of 1899 was 530, and the emoluments as before.
LESMAHAGOW (Relief)
In 1691 this extensive parish had the good fortune to obtain the Rev.
Thomas Lining as its minister, one of the little Cameronian party who
acceded to the General Assembly at the Revolution. Mr Lining filled the
first charge till his death in 1733, and after a few years his nephew was
admitted to the second charge. But though evangelical preaching was
kept up in the Established Church the old covenanting spirit lingered, and
on 6th November 1739 a Praying Society in the parish acceded to the
Associate Presbytery. For some time the names of Lesmahagow and
Lanark were conjoined, but not till 1741 is there mention of sermon being
appointed to either place. In September 1743 the community of Lesma-
hagow sought union with East Kilbride, the design being to call a minister
conjointly, though the places are about fifteen miles apart. After this they
had sermon for themselves occasionally, and for some years after the Breach
the name appears at intervals in the list of preaching appointments made by
the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow. But no ordination ever took place
either at East Kilbride or at Lesmahagow, and both names are finally lost
sight of. After Burgher congregations were organised at Lanark and Stone-
house, Lesmahagow families adhering to that branch of the Secession would
find the rights of membership within comparatively easy reach. In April
1805 a petition was presented to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow ft-om a
number of people in the parish of Lesmahagow craving supply, and assign-
ing as the reason their distance from any place of worship in connection
with the Secession. The sessions of Lanark and Stonehouse offered no
objections, but there were no probationers available until the Synod, and
the movement seems to have lapsed almost at once.
It was in connection with the Relief Church that the U.P. congregation
of Lesmahagow had its origin. On 26th July 1836 Mr M'Lay of Strathaven
brought this place under the notice of Glasgow Presbytery as a very
promising field for a preaching station, and at next meeting he reported
that evening services had been carried on there for the last four Sabbaths,
and laid on the table a petition subscribed by 30 male heads of families
craving supply of sermon. From this time forth there was constant supply
of preachers at Lesmahagow, and on 7th November 1837 the congregation
was formed, consisting of 71 members, 12 of whom were from Relief
churches, and most of the others from the Establishment. The church,
with 724 sittings, had been so far finished in the beginning of the year as
to accommodate the people, but it was not formally opened till the first
Sabbath of August.
First Minister.— h.'USy.WDV.v. LINDSAY, from ToUcross, Glasgow. Or-
428 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
dained, 22nd May 1838. The stipend was to be ^80, and ^5 to be added
for every ^100 of debt paid off. The call was signed by 95 members and
adhered to by 198 others. Mr Lindsay laboured on for over seven years,
and commended himself to his brethren by "his talents, piety, and Christian
worth " ; but the congregation fell behind with the stipend, and at a meeting
of Presbytery on 28th October 1845 he left the Moderator's Chair, and
intimated his intention to demit his charge. At next meeting, on i8th
November, the resignation was accepted. At the Assembly in 1847 Mr
Lindsay applied through Paisley Presbytery for admission to the Free
Church, but the case was left over as not ripe for decision. Next year
he was received to the status of an ordained minister without a charge.
He died at Edinburgh, 22nd April 1864, aged fifty-six, and a tombstone in
Grange Cemetery marks where he is buried. His name is linked with that
of his son, the Rev. Professor Lindsay of the Free College, Glasgow.
Second Minister. — Robert Cordiner, from Southend, Kintyre. Or-
dained, i6th March 1847. The call was signed by 100 members, and
adhered to by 43 others, most of whom were also in full communion. The
Home Board was to supplement the stipend by ^35 the first year, ^30 the
second, and ^20 the third, making it ^100 in all, and as yet there was no
manse. Under Mr Cordiner's pastoral care and vigorous pulpit work the
congregation in no long time surmounted its difficulties. In course of time
a manse was acquired, and in 1868 another was built at an outlay of ^405,
besides the price of the former, the people raising ^230 and the Board
allowing ^175. On nth October 1894 Mr Cordiner retired from active
service, though still retaining his pastoral connection with the congregation.
Third Minister. — John Lewars, M.A., from Lanark (Hope Street).
Ordained, 20th March 1895. It was arranged that the junior minister should
have £,110 from the congregation, and the senior colleague was to have ^30
a year, with the manse. On 14th April 1896 Mr Cordiner's jubilee was
celebrated, when he received a befitting testimonial. He died, 20th
November 1897, in the seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-first of his
ministry. The Rev. James Cordiner of Charlotte Street, Aberdeen, was a
nephew of his, and another nephew of the same name with himself is
one of our probationers. On 31st July 1900 Mr Lewars was loosed from
Lesmahagow on accepting a call to Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy. The
membership in the beginning of the year was 331, and the stipend from
the people ^150.
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE
STOW (Burgher)
At the General Assembly in 1732 a case of disputed settlement came up
from the parish of Stow. The presentee was Mr David Duncan, proba-
tioner, who had been proposed for Cambuslang without success eight years
before, but secured the favour of the Crown through having been "governor"
in the family of Sir William Baillie of Bonnington. It was pleaded that the
better part of the electors concurred, but no call was given. Instead there
was a paper from some heritors and elders in favour of the patron's nominee,
and a declaration to the same effect from certain heads of families and
others. It was proposed to begin with a moderation, but the Assembly I
decided to proceed with the settlement, holding that there was a sufficient
a
i
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 429
concurrence of legal electors. The ordination took place in August 1733.
Eleven of the fifteen elders now withdrew from attendance at the parish
church, and in 1 738 a large body of the leading parishioners represented
to the General Assembly the hardships they were under through Mr
Duncan having been settled in Stow. Lenient measures were counselled,
with a view to temporary relief, but redress was sought without delay in a
different direction.
The first mention of Stow in the Minutes of the Associate Presbytery is
on 7th June 1738, when two elders renewed a former accession, and on
1 8th July a paper was laid on their table from nearly all the members of
the Praying Society there, with a formal accession to the Act and Testi-
mony. On the second Wednesday of November Messrs Wilson of Perth
and Mair of Orwell preached a few miles from the village, and baptised
between 20 and 30 children. In 1740 they took possession of their first
church, thatched with heather, and originally a malt barn, which was to
serve as their place of worship for eighty years.
First Minister.— W11.1.IAU HuTTON, M.A., from Muckart. Acceded to
the Associate Presbytery on i8th July 1738, the day on which the Seceders
in Stow were recognised as a congregation, and that same day he was
appointed Presbytery Clerk. Ordained, 19th November 1740. Before Mr
Hutton had been two years in his charge there was an attempt to remove
him to Falkirk, but in the Presbytery it carried unanimously to veto the
translation. He seems not to have settled down contentedly at Stow, and
some years after this he withdrew for a time from attendance on the Courts
of the Church, though that was put to rights. At the meeting of Synod
when the rupture took place he acted as Clerk, but when the decisive vote
was to be taken he held back from reading the roll, and another pressed
in and did the work for him. The reason may have lain deeper than the
headache which he afterwards gave as his excuse. The break up which
followed found its way into Stow congregation, which had to part with a
number of its members, who took the Antiburgher side, and in course of
time found their centre at Lauder. On the question of the Burgess Oath
itself Mr Hutton, along with Mr Home of Cambusnethan, occupied a kind
of middle ground. At the first meeting of the Burgher Synod after the
severance they craved to have it inserted in the Minutes that, though they
protested against the decision condemning the swearing of the Oath, and
still disapproved of pushing the matter as the Antiburgher brethren had
done, they now fell from their protest. The meaning was that, in their
opinion, the Oath complained of was such as Seceders ought not to swear, but
they did not think the non-swearing ought to be made a term of communion.
This was very much the attitude of Mr Brown of Haddington towards
that matter of burning disputation. But there was greater demand now for
ministers than before, and, believing evidently that the minister of Stow was
transportable, three vacant congregations called him in the early part of
1750 — Perth, Haddington, and Dalkeith. The Synod first agreed to his
removal, and then gave Dalkeith the benefit, and he was loosed from Stow,
9th May 1750, after ministering there for nearly ten years. In 1748 Mr
Hutton published a speech which he delivered before the Antiburgher
Synod, when summoned as a culprit to their bar. The other brethren gave
no heed to the citation ; but he bearded the lion in his den, and we have
what he said in the form of a pamphlet, entitled "The New Constitution of
the Pretended Synod unmasked," but for aught of merit it contains it might
have remained unspoken.
There is a blank in the records now, but we know from other sources
that Mr John Brown was called to Stow when a preacher, and that the
430 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Presbytery of Edinburgh appointed him to Haddington. His preferences
are said to have lain in the other direction, but he was too loyal to the
Church Courts, and too lowly in his own esteem, to utter a murmur. This
congregation then called Mr David Forrest, but he was a young man of a
very different stamp — unruly, crotchety, and impracticable. Midholm came
in shortly after, but the Presbytery of Edinburgh gave the preference to
Stow, saving them from a second disappointment, and the Synod confirmed
this determination in opposition to Mr Forrest's declared wishes. From
"Memoirs of his Life and Contendings" we get insight into his mental
exercise at this time, and the ingenuity with which he conjured up reasons
for refusing compliance. For one thing, he fell back on an Act of Assembly
more than a century old, which ordained that no preacher was to be eligible
for a call until he had been at least half-a-year in public service. He also
told the Synod, he said, that he could see no difference between intruding a
congregation upon a minister and intruding a minister upon a congregation.
Then further : " The people of Stow, seeing no appearance of my submitting
to that settlement, gave up with their call in harvest 1754, and the Synod
admonished and rebuked me, and put down in their Minutes that I sub-
mitted, which was not fact." He was ordained at Inverkeithing, and, so far
as Mr Forrest was concerned, the Synod had rest for some time.
Second Minister.— ^^l-LhlAU KiDSTON, from Stirling (now Erskine
Church). Called on the same day to Selkirk, but the Presbytery appointed
him to Stow, which, after a vacancy of six years, had superabounding
claims. Ordained, 17th October 1756, and this was the beginning of a
ministry which lasted fifty-two years. The stipend was to be ^45, with a
manse — a fair allowance, judged by the standard of the times. In 1777 Mr
Kidston complained to the Presbytery that he had only ;^55 from his people,
and sometimes it was neither regularly nor fully paid. At this time there
were upwards of 600 names on the communion roll, and the congregation
was spread over an enormous extent of territory, drawing its membership
from five different counties ; but the process of reduction was about to com-
mence. The first encroachment came from Fala, on the north, where a
large branch of the congregation, along with others who attended at Dal-
keith, wished to be favoured with supply of sermon, which was granted.
In 1783 these several parties applied to their respective sessions to be dis-
joined and allowed to have a place of worship for themselves, a proposal
which was looked on as perilous to existing interests. Stow session gave
answer that "from the multitude of poor in this congregation, and the dis-
tressing circumstances of the times, it would be destructive to the congrega-
tion to grant said petition." The Synod ultimately decided for the disjunction,
and in 1786 the congregation, not unwilling, perhaps, to make manifest the
bad effects, petitioned to have the stipend reduced. But there was no
redress, the Presbytery having found on inquiry that the communicants
amounted to upwards of 500, and the stipend of ^60, with a horse's main-
tenance, they judged the people well able to pay. But a more serious
cutting down was to follow, when a Burgher congregation was formed at
Lauder in 1793. The petition which came before the Synod on this occa-
sion was signed by 95 persons, chiefly members of the congregation at Stow.
Galashiels followed in 1805, which involved the loss of 50 members at the
outset, and probably a number more in course of time. The mother church,
through the outfit of so many daughters, was reduced to less than half of
what it had been, the membership being now entered at 228. On 12th
January 1808 Mr Kidston sent in to the Presbytery the conditional resigna-
tion of his charge, and the Synod to which the case was referred enjoined
the session to call a meeting of the congregation to consider what provision
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 431
they would be able to make for their aged minister ; but he died on 22nd
April, in the eightieth year of his age and fifty-second of his ministry.
Mr Kidston of Stow was the father of Dr Kidston of Glasgow, who lived to
a still greater age.
In the previous summer the congregation called Mr Alexander Fletcher
to be colleague to Mr Kidston, but the Synod appointed him to be colleague
to his own father at Bridge of Teith. On 28th December 1808 the Rev.
George Lawson, Galashiels, moderated in the election of a minister at Stow,
and was called unanimously himself. But he seems to have had no mind to
make the change, and the call was set aside by the Presbytery without a
vote.
Third Minister. — Robert Hay, from Kelso (First). Called also to
North Sunderland, but refused to accept, though much urged by the Presby-
tery. Ordained, 14th March 1810. That year a new manse cost ;^5oo, and
in 1 82 1 the second church was built at a similar price, with sittings for 430.
The stipend was ^100, with communion expenses, and an occasional gift of
^10. For twenty-five years Mr Hay ministered to a well-compacted congre-
gation ; then in 1835 his health declined, and but for the attachment of his
people he would have resigned his charge. After a lingering illness he was
found dead in bed on the morning of 22nd April 1837, in the fifty-third year
of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry. Mr Hay's brother Andrew
was long a preacher, first under the Burgher Synod, and then in the United
Secession Church. He was called in the early part of his course to Eccle-
fechan, and under that heading he has been referred to. A sister of theirs
was the wife of Dr Henderson of Galashiels.
Fourth Minister. — Andrew Robertson, from Paisley (St James' Street),
and from under the ministry of Dr Baird, whose son-in-law he became.
Called first to the newly-formed congregation of Wishart Church, Dundee,
but accepted Stow, and was ordained there, 31st January 1838. The stipend
was ^112, and ^10 for sacramental expenses, with manse and garden. The
call was signed by 218 members. Mr Robertson figured in the Atonement
Controversy, taking a leading part in the Synod on the "New View" side,
and particularly in antagonism to Dr Marshall of Kirkintilloch. He also
wrote a " History of the Atonement Controversy in Connection with the
Secession Church," which was published in 1846. All along he took intense
interest in the Synod's proceedings, and at his last appearance there, speak-
ing under deep feeling, he told that, during the twenty-five years he had
been a member, he had never been absent from a single sederunt. Then it
came out that he was on the point of demitting his charge, having resolved
on emigrating to Australia, where he hoped for a larger field of usefulness.
His resignation was accepted on 10th June 1862, and he proceeded to the
other side of the world. Soon after reaching Australia Mr Robertson was
inducted into Castlemaine, but was invited to West Melbourne, a much
more important position, in 1865, and removed thither in June of that year.
In the Synod relations were strained with his brethren, very much through
his own inborn impetuosity, and for a short time he threw off their authority,
but that was got over. On 28th January 1875 he suddenly dropped down,
and expired. He was in the sixty-fifth year of his age and thirty-seventh of
his ministry.
Fifth Minister.— Alexai^dkr Mair, M.A., from Mauchline. Called in
August 1862 to Burton -on-Trent, but declined, and was ordained at Stow,
19th June 1863. The membership was 235, and the stipend ^150, with the
manse free from taxes, and with sacramental expenses. The present church,
with 500 sittings, was opened on 30th July 1872 by Dr Eadie. It was built
at a cost of ^2300, of which ^200 came from the sale of the old church ;
432 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
^140 was bequeathed by a deceased member ; ^100 was received from the
Ferguson Bequest ; and the opening collections realised nearly ^250. The
large sum still required was completely made up from the people and their
friends in little more than a year. On 2nd September 1873 ^f'' Mair
accepted a call to Morningside, Edinburgh.
Sixth Minister. — John Wilson, M.A., translated from Canongate,
Edinburgh, and previously of Stronsay, where he was ordained in 1867.
Inducted, 7th April 1874. In 1879 the old manse was sold, and another
erected beside the new church at a cost of ^1500. Over against this large
outlay there was the fourth part of a legacy available, of nearly ^4500, by
a lady of the congregation. On 6th December 1881 Mr Wilson accepted
a call to Whiteinch, Glasgow. Soon afterwards the congregation called
Mr Archibald B. D. Alexander, but the votes were almost equally divided
between him and Mr John Mair, who was afterwards chosen Synod's librarian,
and the call was declined. Next year he was settled in Langbank.
Se7>enth Minister. — John Beveridge, B.D., from Ayr (Cathcart Street).
Called also to Berwick (Church Street), but preferred Stow, and was ordained,
26th December 1882. Accepted a call to the English Presbyterian Church,
Wolverhampton, on 17th October 1893, from which he was translated in
1900 to Bell Street, Dundee.
Eighth Minister. — Andrew M. Gentles, M.A., from Maryhill. Or-
dained, 17th April 1894. The membership at the close of 1899 was 176, and
the stipend from the people was ^^140.
MIDHOLM (Antiburgher)
The parish of Bowden, to which Midholm belongs, was the scene of an
intrusion in 1742. The case came before the Assembly the year before,
when the rights of the people were pleaded by one of their own number,
" the miller of Bowden's man." A newspaper report states that he " appealed
to the Book of Discipline, which he held in his hands, and insisted that
nothing should be done contrary thereto or to the scriptures of truth." But
Mr James Hume was the nominee of the Duke of Roxburgh, and the
Assembly willed to have the claims of the patron upheld. The Presbytery
drawing back, the Synod took the matter in hand, and the ordination was
effected, 20th April 1742. Against these proceedings an appeal was taken
to the approaching Assembly, where the case occupied nine hours. It was
pleaded, on the one hand, " that only four persons concurred with Mr Hume,
and that they might as well pretend to fix a pastoral relation between him
and the church walls as with the parishioners of Bowden." To this it was
replied that there was a goodly concurrence, and a list of non-resident
heritors is given, headed by the Duke of Roxburgh and other members of
the aristocracy, along with several small feuars and principal tenants. The
action of the Synod in ordaining Mr Hume was confirmed by a close vote —
57 to 56. But so early as the last Sabbath of June 1740 the Seceders had
entered on the ground, services having been conducted that day by Mr
Clarkson, one of their preachers, at Midholm, a village which was to become
the great Antiburgher centre for the counties of Roxburgh and Selkirk, and
far beyond.
First Minister. — PATRICK Matthew, from Dundee, and probably from
under the ministry of Mr Willison. Acceded to the Associate Presbytery
as a student of theology on 4th March 1740. After attending the prelec-
tions of Mr Wilson of Perth for two sessions he obtained licence. Ordained
at Midholm, nth May 1742, but the church was not built till 1746. At the
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 433
Breach of 1747 Mr Matthew went with the Antiburghers, and continued
among them some years without entering fully into their councils. On 7th
November 1749 the process of severance between him and them began.
That day a paper signed by six elders and 6 members of Midholm congrega-
tion was given in to the Antiburgher Presbytery in the name of the people
generally. They were grieved and oflfended at their minister, because,
having Ralph Erskine in his manse last August, he joined with him in
religious exercises, well knowing that his guest was under sentence of the
greater excommunication. Mr Matthew acknowledged the charge to be
correctly laid, as he employed Mr Erskine to pray at evening worship on
that occasion, and also next morning, but pleaded that this was simply a
non-homologating of a sentence against which he had entered his dissent.
He was inclined, however, to admit wrong-doing, and it was left for him to
read an extract of the Presbytery's judgment on the case to satisfy his
people. But the matter was not to rest there. Three months afterwards
a petition from two elders and 18 other persons in name of the congregation
of Midholm and Yarrow was presented to the Presbytery, complaining that
their minister had not yet given them any satisfaction for his offence in
holding religious fellowship with Ralph Erskine. At a meeting of Presby-
tery in April 1750 Mr Matthew complained of Mr Gib that he had kept up
underhand communication with the malcontents at Midholm both by letter
and personal conference. Next day they suspended him from office. On
7th August following, when the case was taken up by the Synod, Mr Matthew
came forward, and read a paper condemning their procedure in this affair,
and also the sentence pronounced on the separating brethren. He con-
cluded by declining their authority, and left the Court. What followed
links itself with the origin of the Burgher congregation in Selkirk.
Second Minister. — Andrew Arnot, from Thomas Mair's congregation,
Milnathort, but born and brought up in Kinnesswood. Ordained at Mid-
holm, 8th July 1752. In view of his ordination it is stated in the Presbytery
records that those in the west bounds wished to have his services at Etler-
burn every third Sabbath according to the system adopted aforetime, but it
was decided that he should only preach there six Sabbaths in the year, and
choose his own time. Mr Arnot was missioned to Pennsylvania in 1753,
the year after his ordination, but with permission to return when he and Mr
Gellatly, the first ordained preacher sent across the Atlantic by either section
of the Secession, had organised a Presbytery. Mr Arnot after accomplish-
ing the work assigned him returned to his charge at Midholm, where he
laboured till his death. Of the congregation's strength and workings we
have some particulars in the Presbytery records for 1779. The number of
examinable persons at that time was 625. They gave their minister ^45 in
name of stipend and ^3 at each communion, besides ^3 a year for horse
hire when he required to travel. They also paid ^5 for the manse and the
piece of ground attached. Mr Arnot was laid aside in a great measure from
active duty the last two years of his life. He died, 24th May 1803, in the
seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry. Portmoak register
shows that he was baptised in September 1724, which makes him two years
younger than is usually given.
Third Mi?iister. — LAURENCE Glass, from Craigend, but admitted to the
Divinity Hall from Kinclaven. The call was signed by 98 male members and
adhered to by 13 others in full communion. Ordained as colleague to Mr
Arnot, nth January 1803. In less than four years his ministerial course
came to an unhappy close, as he was deposed for immorality, 25th November
1806. The Presbytery soon after saw their way to receive him into Church
membership again, though not without his good name being brought into
II. 2 E
434 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
question on other grounds. He afterwards became a farmer in the locality,
joined the Burgher Church at Newtown, and the last trace we have of him
is in 1833, when he was tenant of Kittyfield, in the parish of Melrose.
Fourth Minister. — James Inglis, son of the Rev. William Inglis of
Dumfries (Loreburn Street). When a preacher he was called first to Kirrie-
muir, which was in a very weak state, but Midholm followed, and was pre-
ferred by the Synod. Ordained, 28th February 1809. He was to hav^e from
the people ^100 of stipend, with manse, garden, and stable. The Presby-
tery were of opinion that they should also pay the rent of the land attached,
which consisted of about two acres, but the commissioners afterwards got it
entered that there was no reason for expecting this to be done. As the
call was signed by only 75 (male) members the congregation seems to have
declined since last ordination. Mr Inglis, owing to strained relations with
the Presbytery, partly in connection with pecuniary affairs, resigned his
charge, 24th July 1828. He then removed to Edinburgh, where he became
the head of a well-known bookselling business in Hanover Street, and joined
Dr M'Crie's congregation. He died, 13th December 1844, in the sixty-sixth
year of his age. His family, including the Rev. James Inglis of Johnstone,
and Mr Charles Inglis, well known .in connection with Sabbath school work,
returned to the United Secession Church.
Midholm congregation after Mr Inglis withdrew followed his example,
and they applied for sermon to Edinburgh Original Secession Presbytery,
and on the third Sabbath of August the pulpit was occupied by a minister
of that connection. After being vacant for four years they obtained the Rev.
David A. Sturrock, father of the Rev. John Sturrock, Victoria Terrace, Edin-
burgh, for their minister. He died in 1853, and since then they have had the
Rev. W. F. Aitken, M.A., afterwards Professor Aitken, Glasgow, and the
Rev. Thomas Matthew, now of Kilwinning, ordained over them. The
present minister is the Rev. John G. Boyd. Owing to the want of accessions
the church has experienced inevitable decline. In 1884 the membership was
only 63, and yet they gave a stipend of ^120, with the manse.
EARLSTON, EAST (Antiburgher)
This congregation was originally part of Stitchel "community." In their
own Minutes its origin is ascribed to dissatisfaction with the doctrine taught
by the parish minister. This was Mr John Gowdie, a son of Professor
Gowdie, Edinburgh University. The father was Moderator of the General
Assembly in 1733, and it was by his casting-vote at the November Com-
mission that it carried to proceed to inflict higher censure on the " Four
Brethren." Thomas Boston, though he had a particular regard for Mr
Gowdie, indicates that he had narrow views of the doctrine of free grace,
and his son, who succeeded him as minister at Earlston in 1730, and
occupied the pulpit for forty-seven years, belonged to the same school of
theology. Hence a number of the parishioners joined the Secession at an
early period.
At the Breach of 1747 the majority of the Seceders about Earlston took
the Antiburgher side. In February 1749 we have traces of matters working
towards a severance between the east and west divisions of the Antiburgher
community of Stitchel. Those to the west insisted on having the place of
worship at Earlston, and they carried their point at last, the church, with
sittings for 450, being built in 1750. Those on the east, with Hume for
their centre, were left to provide for themselves, though the first arrange-
ment was that the two places should have sermon alternately.
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 435
First Minister. — John Dalziel, from Edinburgh (Nicolson Street).
Ordained, 17th July 1751. The call was signed by 70 (male) members.
The people from the east side were allowed to concur in the call, and were
to be under Mr Dalziel's pastoral care meanwhile. Hence it is entered that
he was ordained over " the Associate congregation of Earlston and Stitchel."
When the Presbytery met that day they had a petition laid before them
from several Seceders in Gattonside to be disjoined from Stow (afterwards
Lauder), seven miles off, and annexed to Earlston, which was distant only
three miles. A similar petition came from Galashiels in November following,
and in both cases the request was too reasonable to be refused. By the
above additions, and another from Newstead, where the parties were
disjoined from Midholm, four miles distant, and annexed to Earlston, there
was strengthening during the first year of Mr Dalziel's ministry. Covenant-
ing work was then engaged in, when 156 entered the Bond, and a year
afterwards there were other 52, so that we may estimate the entire member-
ship at not less than 250. Thus without any violent intrusion to stir feeling
the Secession cause had grown into goodly proportions in Earlston and the
parishes around.
The session, when Mr Dalziel was ordained, consisted of three members,
two of whom resided in the town, and when others came to be chosen there
is mention of Legerwood, Smailholm, Redpath, and Huntlywood as
districts for which elders were required. There was also one from Gatton-
side who had held office in Stow congregation, and he was admitted without
any formal election, the session giving him the right hand of fellowship
^'upon the ground of general satisfaction." One of the entries in the
Minutes about this time makes it clear that women were permitted to attend
the meetings of the Praying Societies, for a complaint was lodged with the
session by one woman against another that she was guilty of divulging
what passed in the Society, and that she " used intolerable freedom
with the characters of some of the members." Of the state of matters in the
congregation we have a glimpse in 1779, when the Presbytery ascertained
that the examinable persons came to nearly 500, and that the people paid
^50, los. of stipend and ^6, los. for a glebe. The minister had also a
manse and garden, with £1 for sacramental expenses in summer and ^i, los.
in winter. It was much the same in 1798, but they intimated that they were
about to make an increase. Mr Dalziel died, 2nd June 1804, in the seventy-
ninth year of his age and fifty-third of his ministry. Of his gifts as a
preacher it was testified at the time that he was universally acceptable. All
that remains of his pen is a controversial pamphlet on "The Imputation of
Christ's Righteousness," in which he criticised with much asperity certain
published opinions of the Rev. John Brown of Haddington on that subject.
Of his family, it may be added that Lord Pearson is a great-grandson of
Mr Dalziel's.
Second Minister. — WiLLiAM Lauder. The family belonged to the
Established Church of West Calder, but having come under strong religious
impressions whei) he was about the age of seventeen he connected himself
with the Antiburgher congregation of Mid-Calder. After receiving licence
he was fixed on by the Synod for missionary work in America, but pleaded
exemption owing to the state of his health. On 4th April 1804 he was
ordained at Earlston as colleague and successor to Mr Dalziel, who sur-
vived only two months. There was some hesitancy about accepting the
call, as the stipend offered was only ^60 meanwhile, the old minister being
to receive a retiring allowance, with the manse. The call was signed by
71 male members, and adhered to by 33 others, some of whon) may have
been females. The existence of a Relief congregation in the place since
436 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the middle of Mr Dalziel's ministry must have lessened the sources of
increase. Besides this, the smaller farms were being united, and in 1824
as many as 70 persons left Earlston for Canada, as is related with some
variations, and without mention of the name, in TurnbuU's " Sketches of
Real Life." Most of these are said to have been from Mr Lauder's con-
gregation, but a considerable number were from Mr Crawford's, of the
Relief. " They had all agreed to meet in the village, for they were to go
by the same ship. They chose an hour well suited to their circumstances.
They could not, or at least they did not, depart during the day. They went
before the first beam of the morning had struggled out from the gloom of
night." Annan was their seaport, which involved a journey of over fifty
miles. By a process like this the two dissenting congregations of Earlston
must have suffered in those days, and many sister congregations besides.
About nine years before Mr Lauder's death, when he had reached three-
score, he required a colleague. So far as we can learn his discourses were
carefully prepared and richly evangelical, and in pastoral work he was much
appreciated.
Third Minister. — David Hamilton, from Crossford. Ordained, 4th
July 1843. The call was signed by 202 members. Mr Lauder, who con-
tinued to preach occasionally, was to have ^40, with the manse, and Mr
Hamilton ^70. In 1850 the aged minister removed to Lilliesleaf, giving
up the manse, and part of the ^40 besides. He died, 6th June 1852, in
the eighty-first year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. His col-
league followed, the session Minutes state, on the afternoon of 19th
February 1854, in the forty-fourth year of his age and eleventh of his
ministry. The record was made "with feelings of the deepest regret for
his loss and regard for his memory." Three years before Mr Hamilton's
death the congregation had its centenary celebration, when the Rev. John
Cairns of Berwick preached from the text : " I am Alpha and Omega, the
beginning and the end, the first and the last."
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Henderson, from Dunfermline (St
Margaret's). Soon after receiving licence he left for Canada, and was
ordained at St Catherine's on 24th November 1847. Having returned to.
this country he was inducted to Hexham on 31st December 1851, from
which he retired on 4th April 1854. After declining Lilliesleaf he was
settled at Earlston on 13th December of that year, where he remained
till 3rd July 1866, when he accepted a call to the East Church, Perth.,
When a moderation was next applied for the membership was 204.
Fifth Minister. — Robert Finlayson, B.A., from Muirton. Ordained,
i8th June 1867. In the second year of his ministry the people agreed to-
raise the stipend to ^130, and were to receive ^20 from the Supplementing
Fund. Attempts at union with the West Church having failed, it was
agreed to renovate the old building, which was described as "far from
comfortable either for the minister or people." A sum of ^400 was to
be raised for this purpose, and, as showing the spirit of the people, it is
enough to state that ^264, ids. was subscribed for on the spot by 14
members. On 8th June 1872 the church, which was almost entirely new,
was opened by the Rev. Joseph Leckie, Ibrox, Glasgow, the minister of
Mr Finlayson's early days. The whole cost was £72^, exclusive of cartage,
which was done by their own farmers. In 1874 the congregation became
self-supporting. Mr Finlayson died, 17th December 1886, in the forty-sixth
year of his age and twentieth of his ministry.
We come now to Union negotiations, and then to the point where the
two United Presbyterian congregations in Earlston merge into one.
I
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 437
EARLSTON, WEST (Relief)
The parish church of Earlston having fallen vacant by the death of Mr
John Gowdie on 6th June 1777, Mr Laurence Johnston received a presenta-
tion from the Crown. This was followed by a call with 5 signatures, and
Mr Johnston was ordained, 5th May 1778. A petition was now presented
to the Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh for sermon, and a church built, with
500 sittings.
First Mt'm's/er.— Thomas Tho.\ison, from Edinburgh (Nicolson Street).
Though brought up under the ministrj' of the Rev. Adam Gib he never
entered the Antiburgher Hall, but after passing through his theological
course at Edinburgh University he took licence in connection with the
Relief. The date of his ordination cannot be given, but he was a member
of Synod in May 1780. In little more than three years he was translated
to Duns (South), but he was long enough in Earlston to give the cause
a successful beginning.
Second Minister. — ALEXANDER STEVENSON, who had been ordained
over a congregation of Protestant Dissenters at Widrington, Northumber-
land, and was inducted as Mr Thomson's successor in 1784. When in
Earlston he bought the property of Braidwoodshiel, about two and a half
miles away in the Lauder direction, and kept the farm in his own hands.
This led to dissatisfaction, the people complaining that secular work came
between him and his official duties, and he resigned in 1791. After a time
he removed to Glasgow, where, we have some reason to think, he prac-
tised as a physician, and died, but at what time cannot be ascertained.
During the vacancy which followed Mr Stevenson's removal the congrega-
tion narrowly escaped disaster, for they called Mr David Gellatly ; but
Haddington obtained the preference, and became the victim.
Third Minister. — James Taylor, of whose origin nothing has been
ascertained. While a preacher he declined Wamphray, and accepted
Earlston, where he was ordained, 12th March 1793, the stipend promised
being ^60, with ^5 for house rent and ;^i, los. for expenses. Having
qualified as a medical man he combined the two professions, but owing,
it is said, to some blunder he made in treating a case of illness he re-
signed, and the pastoral tie was dissolved, nth November 1806. He then
removed to Yetholm, where he practised as a physician, and died, 7th July
1840, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — John Wills, from Ochiltree, Ayrshire. Became a
licentiate of the Relief Church, and was ordained at Earlston, 20th August
1807. The stipend was now ;^90, with ^2 at each communion. Mr Wills
died, 13th June 1814, in the fortieth year of his age and seventh of his
ministry. His widow survived till 17th May 1863, during which time she
had a small annuity from the Widows' Fund of the Relief Church, and
resided in Earlston in a house granted her by a liberal and wealthy member
of the congregation. During this vacancy the congregation called Mr
James Porteous, but he preferred Jedburgh.
Fifth Minister.— Yi.WlD Crawford, from Glasgow (East Campbell
Street). Ordained, 4th October 181 5. The membership of the congrega-
tion now increased, and throughout Mr Crawford's ministry it was drawn
from a wide circuit of parishes. It shows how deep throughout that region
was the feeling of aversion to the exercise of Patronage, or of dissatisfaction
with the style of preaching which prevailed in the pulpits of the Established
Church. In 1834 Mr Crawford resigned, feeling that a sphere of less exacting
pastoral work was required. The resignation was accepted, 28th July, and
in a few months he was inducted to the newly-formed Relief congregation
438 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of Portobello. For fourteen years prior to this Mr Crawford had been
Clerk to the Rehef Synod.
Sixth Minister. — William Durie, from Glasgow (Anderston). Or-
dained, 3rd December 1834. In the New Statistical History it is stated that
about this time the membership of the Secession congregation in Earlston
might be slightly over 300, and the Relief slightly under it, but while the
stipend in the former case was ^100, with a manse, the Relief was ^20
more. In the sixth year of Mr Durie's ministry a phenomenon emerged
which showed that the affairs of the congregation were out of their course.
He reported to the Presbytery "that his session, having found for some
time past the want of co-operation in forwarding the objects of the trust
committed to them, had on Sabbath last by a unanimous vote dissolved."
It was self-destruction of a remarkable type. The Presbytery, after satisfy-
ing themselves as to the merits of the case, granted Mr Durie liberty to form
a new session. But he came up two years after with the announcement that
there was a crisis in his church which demanded the mediation of the Pres-
bytery. According to Mr Tait, troubles had arisen in connection with money
matters, and, reconciliation having proved impracticable, Mr Durie's demis-
sion of his charge was accepted, nth May 1843. Mr Durie had moved in
the Presbytery three years before "to petition the legislature for a total
separation of Church and State" ; but now he was among altered bearings,
and in 1846 his application to be admitted into the Established Church was
granted by the General Assembly. After acting for a time as assistant at
Cardross he went to Canada, where he became minister of a congregation in
that connection at Bytown, Upper Canada. He died there on 1 2th September
1847, "of typhus fever contracted during his ministerial attendance on sick
emigrants."
Seventh Minister. — John S. Giffen, B.A., from Strathaven (West), a
nephew of Professor Thomson, Paisley, and an elder brother of the Rev.
Mungo Gififen, Morebattle. Ordained, 19th March 1844. Under his
ministry the congregation regained a measure of prosperity ; but he early
faded, and on 19th July 1847 he died, in the twenty-ninth year of his age
and fourth of his ministry.
Eighth Minister. — James Ballantyne, brought up under the ministry
of Dr Henderson, Galashiels, but became a student in the Relief Hall. All
was not harmony, and the call was signed by only 118 members. The
stipend was to be ^100, with manse and garden. Mr Ballantyne was or-
dained, 24th May 1848, and loosed, 5th August 1850, on accepting a call to
Arthur Street, Edinburgh.
. Ninth Minister. — John Kechie, from Irvine (Relief). Had calls to
Drymen, Chatton, Monkwearmouth, and Whitehaven, but preferred Earlston,
and was ordained there, 7th May 1851. The call was signed by 149
members, and the stipend was as before. After the Union of 1847 the
impropriety of having two sister churches in Earlston, with a population of
1000, came to be more perceptible. Times were changed since this was the
metropolis of Dissent for the wide regions around. The thinning out from
other parishes went on till, in 1875, the two congregations, which had a
united membership of 600 three dozen years before, were reduced, the one to
194 and the other to 195. They kept almost parallel for years, but gradu-
ally the West Church fell somewhat behind both in numbers and in re-
sources. In 1 88 1 their old place of worship, which had served for a full
century, made way for another, built at the slender cost of ^^934, of which a
bazaar, opened by Mr J. Knox Crawford, furnished ^522. But on the East
Church becoming vacant at the close of 1886 successful measures were
adopted for uniting the two. These come now to be traced.
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 439
EARLSTON (United)
When the East Church fell vacant in December 1886 it had a membership
of 180, and the West 172. The former gave a stipend of j^i6o, and the
latter ^140, and the supplements were ^24 and ^{^44 respectively. Union
was desirable, but attempts of this kind had hitherto been fruitless. How-
ever, immediately after Mr Finlayson's death a Committee of Presbytery
had been appointed to ascertain what was practicable in that direction.
Accompanied by Dr Kennedy and Mr David M'Cowan they met with
the two congregations on i6th February 1887. The East congregation
stipulated that Mr Kechie should retire, but without harm to his pecuniary
interests ; while the West stipulated that he should be sole pastor, with the
addition of an assistant. In the latter case, however, the office-bearers
would yield, if their minister's rights and interests were duly conserved.
Mr Kechie felt keenly the prospect of being set aside, and concurrence he
likened to the signing of his death warrant as a minister. He was little
over si.\ty, and his natural force was not much abated, but he came to see
that, if the object was to be gained, the sacrifice on his part and on the part
of his people would have to be made. On 8th March it was arranged by the
Presbytery that he should receive ;^ioo a year from the Home Board and
^50 fron) the united congregation, with the life rent of the manse. On the
29th the Articles of Union, agreed on unanimously at a joint meeting of the
two congregations, were ratified by the Presbytery. They amounted to this,
that Mr Kechie should hold the status of senior minister, but retire into the
emeritus positon ; that the West Church should be sold, and the price
utilised for the enlarging of the East Church, any additional cost to he met
from the Loan Fund till the way should be opened for the sale of the manse.
At the close Mr Kechie expressed satisfaction with the issue arrived at, and
his gratitude to the committee for their kindness to him and their prudence
throughout. On Sabbath, 29th May, Dr Orr, to whom the success of the
negotiations was largely owing, preached in the East Church, and declared
the two congregations united, and next evening a soiree in the Corn Ex-
change crowned the auspicious occasion. The united session consisted of
five members-— three from the West and two from the East Church.
When a minister came to be chosen, there was danger of the rent
reappearing. On 4th October 1887 a call was brought up to the Presbytery
in favour of Mr Thomas Crawford, probationer ; but it was signed by con-
siderably less than half the membership, and at the moderation 68 had voted
for Mr Crawford and 52 for the Rev. John CuUen, D.Sc, Leslie. Instead of
sustaining it the Presbytery appointed the Union Committee to confer with
the congregation. The meeting was held on Monday, the i8th, and after
hearing parties the deputation urged the expediency of having the call set
aside. It happened that on the previous day the pulpit was occupied by a
preacher who had Earlston as his first vacancy, and on whom the people
felt they might unite. It was accordingly agreed by a large majority to
begin anew, in prospect of reaching entire harmony. Mr Crawford became
the harmonious choice of Perth (East) some time after.
First Minister. — William R. Thomson, B.D., from Glasgow (London
Road). At this moderation, though 3 voted for another candidate, the call
was made unanimous, and it was at once accepted. The ordination took
place, i6th February 1888. The church, renovated and enlarged to accom-
modate 470, was already taken possession of, and the stipend promised was
;^20o, and the manse, besides the allowance of ^50 a year to Mr Kechie.
On 1st April 1890 Mr Thomson accepted a call to Caledonia Road, Glasgow.
Mr Kechie, having commuted his life interest in the manse for ^120, had
440 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
removed to Edinburgh the year before, where he died suddenly, 17th
February 1895, i" the seventieth year of his age. Over against the ex-
penditure required in remodelling the place of worship there was the money
received for the property of the West congregation — ^300 for the church and
^382 for the manse.
Second Minister. — Henry Brown, M.A., from Tillicoultry. Ordained,
I2th March 1891. On 23rd January 1900 Mr Brown declined a call to Bell
Street, Dundee. In the begmning of that year the membership was 326,
and the stipend ^230, with the manse.
SELKIRK (Burgher)
On 13th April 1738 certain Praying Societies in the parish of Yarrow
acceded to the Associate Presbytery, and Mr Moncrieff of Abernethy was
appointed to preach to them on the following Sabbath. Two years later
Ettrick, the parish which Thomas Boston had leavened with the pure gospel,
and where his son was now minister, comes up along with Yarrow. In 1740
the people there petitioned the Presbytery for a moderation in a call with
the view of having that district made the seat of a congregation, and re-
newed their petition without success from time to time. But after the great
exodus from the Established Church at Bowden, some eight or ten miles
distant, Midholm, in that parish, was fixed on as the centre to which Seceders
from the parishes around were to gravitate. It was arranged, however, that
the minister of Midholm, should preach every third Sabbath at Etlerburn
(Hutlerburn), in the parish of Ettrick, and now in the quoad sacra parish of
Ladhope. But, as the supplying of two places eight miles apart tended to
break Mr Matthew down, the Presbytery agreed in 1745 that he should
confine himself to Midholm in winter, and do in summer as he deemed best.
Meanwhile Selkirk, which lies midway between the two places, is never
mentioned.
After Mr Matthew, the first minister of Midholm, broke with the Anti-
burghers and went over to the other side, Selkirk seems to have been the
headquarters of his supporters. The earliest Minutes of session show that
he had three of the elders with him, one of them being a Selkirk bailie.
But it was deemed better that Mr Matthew should remove from Midholm,
and on 7th April 1752 the Synod transferred him to Auchtermuchty (East).
Soon after this the Burgher congregation of " Midholm and Yarrow" called
Mr David Forrest, whom the Synod appointed to Stow, a decision which
led to nothing in the end. In December 1754 they called the same preacher
a second time ; but his strength of will prevailed, and he became minister
of Inverkeithing. In April 1756 they called Mr William Kidston, but Stow
again got the preference. Thus year after year the vacancy continued, and
limited supplies besides. But by-and-by the Burgher cause gained strength
at Selkirk through an unpopular settlement in the parish church. Mr
William Trotter, of whom little is known, was presented in August 1753, and
admitted to the benefice in July 1754, but not till the case had gone before
the General Assembly. Some time after this there were 30 accessions
from Selkirk, all men ; but the Oath of Abjuration was still a rock of offence
in that locality, as in Boston's days, and several who had sworn it were kept
back from membership for the time. In August 1755 the people petitioned
the Presbytery to have Selkirk entered on the roll instead of Yarrow, and
the congregation to be known as that of Midholm and Selkirk. The session
had been strengthened before this by the ordination of five additional elders.
First Minister. — Andrew Moir, B.A., a native of Muthill, Perthshire.
I
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 441
Acceded to the Burgher Presbytery of Edinburgh, 20th February 1755,
when usher of the Grammar School, North Leith. Being satisfied from the
Associate Presbytery's Act and Testimony that they adhered to the
Covenanted Reformation he withdrew from the Established Church and
craved admission into their fellowship. From the Scots Magazine oi ij^/^
we learn that Mr Moir had previously published a pamphlet, entitled "A
Letter to the Author of the Ecclesiastical Characteristics," in which he
charged the students of Edinburgh University with impious principles and
immoral practices. It appears further that the Senatus took up the case,
and, Mr Moir having acknowledged the authorship, he was "expelled and
extruded from the University." He got licence in August 1756 after attending
the Burgher Hall one session, and was called to Falkirk, Torphichen, and
Midholm or Selkirk, the last of which was preferred by the Synod. The
ordination took place at Selkirk, 14th March 1758, and it is on this occa-
sion that the new church is first mentioned in the session Minutes. There
had been much work in the Presbytery before the place was fixed on. At
one congregational meeting it was unanimously agreed to make it Midholm.
Then it was proposed to have a church at both places, but here Mr Moir
interposed : " By reason of bodily infirmity he is unable to undertake a
charge so extensive, and with two places of worship." This kept back the
ordination for nearly a twelvemonth, but his wishes were deferred to in the
«nd, and .Selkirk became the seat of the congregation.
At the close of his first year's ministrj' there were eight elders added to
the session, which was now fourteen strong. The Abjuration Oath was the
subject on which they were not agreed, and at a meeting of session in 1760 it
carried that in the case of members who had already sworn the Oath baptism
should be granted, but that afterwards the non-swearing should be insisted
on. From this decision six members dissented, and two others adhered at a
subsequent meeting, making a majority, and the. question comes up no more.
Another matter which emerges later on is of a kind seldom met with in the
Burgher connection. One of their number was dealt with for hearing Mr
Arnot, the Antiburgher minister of Midholm, which he may have done on
stormy days, and as a matter of convenience, but "he proved incorrigible."
The Presbytery, on the case being referred to them, expressed dissatisfaction
with such inconsistent conduct, and in the end the offender resigned, and
the resignation was accepted. Mr Moir died, nth February 1770, in the
thirty-ninth year of his age and twelfth of his ministry. Besides the above
pamphlet, which I have never got hold of, Mr Moir published several stray
sermons. He is also understood to have been the author of an anonymous
pamphlet in which the Rev. Adam Gib is sarcastically handled for his
treatment of three of his elders in connection with the Leith Case. A
daughter of Mr Moir became the wife of Dr Lawson, his successor. She
was at that time the widow of the Rev. Alexander Dickson, Burgher
minister of Berwick.
Second Minister. — GEORGE L.\wsON, from West Linton. Ordained, 17th
April 1 77 1. The extent of the congregation in 1780 may be estimated from
the districts mentioned in connection with an election of elders. In addition
to three for Selkirk, there were two required for Ashkirk, one for Ettrick, one
for Yarrow, one for Tweedside, and Galashiels is named later on. In 1787
Mr Lawson was appointed Professor of Theology in room of the Rev. John
Brown of Haddington, and in 1806 he received the degree of D.D. from
Marischal College, Aberdeen. The second church was built in 1805, with
about 850 sittings, and at a cost of ^800. The old building must have re-
quired extensive repairs eighteen years before, for we find from a session
Minute that there was a thanksgiving day observed in November 1786 for
442
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the recent preservation of the congregation," when threatened with immediate
destruction by the fall of the galleries." To enter into the particulars of Dr
Lawson's ministry or to dwell upon his attainments would be superfluous in
view of the graphic history of his " Life and Times," by Dr John Macfarlane.
A brief entry in the session records gives the close in a simple form : "21st
February 1820. The Rev. George Lawson, D.D., our minister, died this
evening. The congregation is therefore become vacant." He was in the
seventy-first year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. Besides his two
sons, who filled in succession their father's pulpit at Selkirk, another son,
John, entered the Hall along with his twin brother Andrew, but died, 29th
December 181 3, after attending three sessions.
Of Dr Lawson's published works those that used to be oftenest met with
in Burgher families were his " Lectures on the Book of Ruth," " Lectures on
the History of Joseph," and "Exposition of the Book of Proverbs." When
the Controversy was beginning which issued in the severance between the
Old and the New Lights, he wrote a pamphlet in favour of forbearance.
The session held a meeting at that time for prayer and conference on the
general subject. His judgment was that there ought to be freedom of opinion
allowed on those articles in the Formula which relate to the power of the
civil magistrate in religion, but to prevent a breach the overture to that
effect ought not to be passed into an Act till it was more maturely considered.
Of Dr Lawson Thomas Carlyle wrote: "A great name in my boy circle ;
never spoken of without reverence and thankfulness by those I loved best."
The three calls which Selkirk congregation now addressed to Professor
Lawson's elder son, George, have been dealt with under Kilmarnock (Port-
land Road). What followed has been forestalled by Ecclefechan. Then the
vacancy of over four years came to an end.
Third Minister. — Andrew Lawson, who had been ordained at Eccle-
fechan eight and a half years before. One of the above calls was signed by
378 members and 316 adherents. The stipend promised at first was only
^120, with ^9 for sacramental expenses, and a house, but under pressure
they came up to ^160 in all. Mr Lawson was inducted, ist June 1824. We
have a view of the congregation's condition in 1836, about a month before
Mr Lawson's death. The communicants numbered 876, being an increase
of over 100 during the last five years. Of these, three-fourths belonged to
Selkirk parish ; and of the others, two-fifths were from the parish of Yarrow,
and most of the others from Galashiels, Ashkirk, Ettrick, and Lilliesleaf
Fifty families came from more than six miles. The stipend at this time was
^160, and the debt of ^420 was lessening year by year. Mr Lawson died,
28th October 1836, "after a short but severe illness," in the forty-fifth year
of his age and twenty-first of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — George Lawson, translated from Kilmarnock, and
inducted as successor to his younger brother, 31st May 1837. The stipend
was to be ^160, as before, and the congregation were also to pay an annuity
of ^20 to their late minister's widow till the youngest child was fifteen. The
call was less harmonious than aforetime, there having been a petition pre-
sented to the Presbytery from 132 members, including five elders, against
granting the moderation. Some might hesitate about inviting one to be
their minister who had been ordained more than thirty years, strong as were
the attractions of the family name. Mr Lawson died, 15th December 1849,
in the sixty-fourth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry. He had
been slightly indisposed for a few days, but on the last night of his life he
slept well, and awoke at the ordinary time. Then " he remarked that, as he
felt some pain in his chest, he would lie for a little longer, when he turned, as
if composing himself to rest again, and was dead." Nothing, so far as we are
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 443
aware, remains to attest the gifts which he was recognised as possessing.
All we can point to of his in print are two letters in the United Secession
Magazine in 1841, signed Agricola, which betoken rare controversial power,
and a memoir of the Rev. John Clapperton of Johnstone in 1849.
Fifth Minister.— ]o-Rti Lawson, son of the Rev. Andrew Lawson, and
nephew of his immediate predecessor. After declining a call to Lilliesleaf
he was ordained at Selkirk, 25th September 1850, but over little more than
half of the old congregation, as will be seen when we come to the history of
the West Church. Still, the call was signed by 331 members. In the earlier
part of Mr Lawson's ministry a manse was purchased, and on Thursday,
16th September 1880, a new church was opened by Dr Thomson of Broughton
Place, Edinburgh, with accommodation for 850, and built at a cost of about
^5000. The collections that day and on the following Sabbath were over
^450. A gentleman who had been brought up in the congregation left
^1000 at his death in 1883 for the reduction of the debt. When about the
age of seventy Mr Lawson required the services of an assistant, and this
led on to the appointment of a colleague. He gladly accepted the relief
which the proposal involved.
Sixth Minister.—} AMEH L. MUNRO, M.A., from Tain, a grandson of
the Rev. John B. Munro of Nigg. Ordained, 30th April 1896. The stipend
was to be j^200 meanwhile, and Mr Lawson was to have ^100, with the
manse. The revised communion roll at this time gave 577 names, and there
was only /50 of debt on the property. Mr Lawson died, 12th September
1898, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and forty-eighth of his ministry.
With his decease the long-cherished family name disappeared from the
Selkirk pulpit. The membership in December 1899 was 556, and the
stipend ^325, with the manse.
SELKIRK (Antusurgher)
On 6th December 1808 the Antiburgher Presbytery of Kelso received a
petition from a number of Selkirk people setting forth the inconvenience of
worshipping at Midholm, four miles off, and craving to be formed into a
distinct congregation. A severance had been attempted in January 1803,
on the day of Mr Glass' ordination at Midholm, but the Presbytery merely
recommended Mr Glass to preach at least four Sabbaths in' the year at
Selkirk. Though it was questionable whether the applicants were able to
support a minister for themselves it was now agreed to grant them sermon,
and on 22nd November 1809 they were disjoined from Midholm. When
the place of worship was built is nowhere entered, but early in 1813 they
applied for a moderation. They did not see their way to promise more than
^70 of stipend, and a free house, but under strong pressure, and to meet the
Synod's minimum office, they were brought up step by step to that figure.
The call came out to Mr Robert Cranston, who was appointed to the
collegiate charge at Morebattle.
First and sole Minister.— V^WAAWX RATTRAY,from Coupar-Angus (First).
Selkirk being carried over Moniaive, he was ordained, 29th August 181 5.
The call was signed by only 23 (male) memlDers. But jarrings in a short
time arose between Midholm and Selkirk owing to several members of the
old congregation crossing the boundary line and attending on Mr Rattray's
ministiy. It was even admitted that he and his session had taken in a
family from the other side of the dividing line, but the boundaries were
complained of as giving Midholm the advantage by three-fourths of a mile.
The arrangements bespoke a remnant of the old parochial system. But,
444
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
however wide the territories of the congregation of Selkirk had been made,
prosperity was scarcely attainable. For one thing, they were overshadowed
by the Burgher church, and after the Union of 1820, when there was no
longer a distinctive testimony to uphold, even old Antiburgher families
coming into the place would incline to join the stronger congregation.
Money difficulties thickened in and grants of ^10 or ^20 from the Synod
Fund brought no permanent relief.
After struggling on for nine years Mr Rattray tabled his resignation.
The congregation, he stated, had hitherto been unable to meet their obliga-
tions unaided, and, with their diminished numbers, for him to remain longer
in his charge would only increase their difficulties. The committee
appointed to inquire into the whole circumstances gave in a very discourag-
ing report. Their entire income was about ^87, los., and they had engaged
to pay ;^90 of stipend and ^13 for house rent. Their debt, including
arrears of stipend, amounted to over ^500, and altogether their expenditure
exceeded their income by ^40 a year. The case being brought before the
Synod they recommended collections to be made for the struggling cause,
but declined to grant regular aid from their own funds " where there is a
strong congregation which meets all the requirements of Selkirk." On 30th
March 1825 Mr Rattray's resignation was accepted, and he returned to the
preachers' list. He was admitted to Swalwell, near Newcastle, on 5th
October 1831, where he laboured the rest of his life. He died, 6th January
185 1, in the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry.
"He was greatly loved," we read in a brief obituary notice, "and will be
deeply lamented."
On the Sabbath after Mr Rattray's demission was accepted the church
was preached vacant, and an anomalous state of matters followed. No
further supply was appointed for the pulpit, and yet, owing to their liabilities,
the congregation could not be dissolved. Even before the vacancy occurred
the session had begun to refuse disjunctions, that parties might not escape
from bearing their share of the burden. The debt at Martinmas 1825 was
^475, and not more than ^130 was offered for the church, which left ^345
to be made up. There were 100 names on the communion roll, but 20 of
these could pay nothing, and this left the other 80 liable to some 4 guineas
each. It was agreed at a congregational meeting that disjunction lines
should be given to members who paid their proportion of the debt, or gave
security that they would pay it within five years. It was also suggested
that occasional sermon should be granted to the vacant congregation till
their affairs were finally wound up. In this state matters continued year
after year, the Synod allowing a grant of ^20 again and again, with per-
mission to apply to congregations and individuals for assistance in the
liquidating of the debt. The Presbytery seems to have been sympathetic
all through, and so was Mr Lawson, but it was laborious work making
effective encroachments on the debt. Sealing ordinances were meanwhile
enjoyed in connection with the other congregation, though not without
remonstrance on the part of their own session, who were apprehensive of
losing their hold. The next clear landmark is in June 1829, when the debt
was reported as down to ^250.
The church had now been disposed of, and it was applied for a time
to ecclesiastical purposes. Sermon was obtained at intervals from the
Original Seceders ; but no headway was made, and the building had to be
secularised. In a thoroughly renovated form it is now occupied as a
manse by the minister of the West U.P. Church. Most of Mr Rattray's old
people were now under Mr Lawson's charge, who was instructed by the
Presbytery to serve them with tokens at communion times. Very much
I
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 445
through the exertions of Dr Thomson of Coldstream, when on a visit to
London, along with money raised in Selkirk and the neighbourhood, the
debt stood in December 1833 at less than ;^5o. It was now thought that
the first congregation might clear this away, but, much to the regret of
the minister and session, they decided by a majority of 2 or 3 votes to reject
the Presbytery's recommendation to that effect. All we know further is that
so late as February 1845 there was still a bill of ^20 causing trouble, and the
Presbytery was advising the parties responsible for the payment to set
about raising subscriptions within the bounds, that the claim might be
extinguished.
SELKIRK, WEST (Unitf:d Presbyterian)
This church was formed, i6th July 1850, in answer to a petition subscribed
by 233 members of the first congregation and 64 adherents. It sprang from
a divided call which was laid on the Presbytery's table that same day in
favour of Mr John Lawson. The congregation fell vacant in the previous
December, and there were tokens before long that a keen contest was
impending. A large number had set their hearts on their late minister's
nephew, the family name being a strong recommendation ; but opposition
was threatened and the bringing forward of another candidate. In view
of an election the advice of the Presbytery was asked as to the making up
of the list of voters, and also whether the vote might not be taken by a poll.
As a considerable number of members who were able gave nothing — or next
to nothing — for the support of ordinances, some were of opinion that all such
should be excluded from taking part in the election. The Presbytery, while
recognising the support of the gospel as a Christian duty, gave instructions
to the session to make up the roll the same as though there had been no
moderation in prospect, and in taking the vote to keep by the Rules of the
Church. It was coming events casting their shadows before. The minority
got up a remonstrance against Mr Lawson's call, but they were willing to
desist, provided the Presbytery formed them into a separate congregation.
This was agreed to, and perhaps nothing was better fitted to stir up the
membership on both sides to liberality. The building of a church was pro-
ceeded with, to accommodate 500, and at next meeting of Presbytery a
moderation was applied for.
First Minister. — WiLLlAM RusSELL, from Glasgow (Cathedral Street,
now Kelvingrove), but originally from Lesmahagow. Selkirk was the first
vacancy which Mr Russell supplied, and he was the candidate put up
against Mr Lawson. Ordained, 19th December 1850, the stipend promised
being ^140, with sacramental expenses and house rent. Died, 3rd August
1859, in the thirty-third year of his age and ninth of his ministry. Heart
disease had taken hold more than a year before, and on the evening of
Tuesday, 2nd August, it woke up as he laid himself down to rest. Medical
aid was bafifled, and, after four hours of intense suffering, he passed away.
Second Minister. — JOHN Dalziel Dickie, from Ayr (Cathcart Street).
Mr William Miller had been previously called, but Falkirk (Erskine
Church) was virtually accepted already, and to that decision he adhered.
Mr Dickie was ordained, 2nd July 1861. On ist August 1865 he demitted
his charge with the view of proceeding to Australia, and on the 15th the
demission was accepted, with expressions of regret and of cordial good
wishes on the part of the congregation. In the following year he was
inducted to the charge of Colac and Ondit, in connection with the Presby-
terian Church of Victoria, where he was "much liked and esteemed." He
446
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
resigned his ciiarge a few years ago on account of age and failing health,
and was recently living at Brighton, a suburb of Melbourne, and preaching
occasionally.
Third Minister. — J AMES Davidson, M.A., son of the Rev. Dr Davidson,
then of Queen Street, Edinburgh. Called also to Bishop Auckland. Or-
dained at Selkirk, 5th July 1866. The call was signed by 206 members,
besides adherents. In July 1870 Mr Davidson declined an invitation to
succeed Dr King at Westbourne Grove, London. The stipend, which had
been previously raised from ^140, besides the manse, to ^160, was now
made ^200, and in December 1875 another ^100 was added. On 17th
April 1877 Mr Davidson accepted a call to Sir Michael Street, Greenock.
Fourth Minister. — GEORGE M'Callum, from Alyth. Had Berwick
(Wallace Green) also in his choice, to succeed Professor Cairns. Ordained,
26th February 1878. On 3rd July 1890 the present church was opened,
with sittings for 700. It cost ^'4500. Of that sum ^2000 was already sub-
scribed, and the opening collection amounted to nearly £700, and it was
believed the remainder would be cleared off without having recourse to a
bazaar. The property was free of debt prior to the Union. The member-
ship at the close of 1899 ^'^s 422, and the stipend was ^425, with the
manse.
LAUDER (Antiburgher)
This congregation was the gathering up of families throughout the wide
bounds of Stow congregation, who separated from their minister, Mr Hutton,
when he took the Burgher side at the Breach of 1747. On 5th January 1748
they craved advice from the Antiburgher Presbytery of Edinburgh, and ac-
knowledged subjection to its authority, the paper being signed by three
elders and 11 members. In the dearth of preachers there was no supply for
them till July, and even then they had only a single Sabbath. For two years
Stow is the place to which appointments are made, but these are few and
far between. In April 1750 Uxton comes up instead, a village six miles
north-east of Stow, and four north of Lauder. Going so far from their old
seat cost them their hold of Galashiels district, the people there being an-
nexed to Earlston, and others to the south-west went to form the congrega-
tion of Peebles. After a few years' trial it was found advisable to remove
from Uxton to Lauder, and on 31st August 1756 that was the place to which
supply was granted. But the people of Earlston now felt uncomfortable at
the thought of a sister congregation being set up so near as seven miles, and
their objections were carried to the Synod. There the case was dismissed,
but vacant communities were enjoined not to shift their place of worship
without consulting the Presbytery. On 22nd February 1757 a petition for a
moderation was presented to the Presbytery of Edinburgh signed by 78
persons, and next year a church was built, with 300 sittings.
First Minister. — Laurence Reid, of whose earlier history little can be
ascertained. We only know that before being a student of divinity he was
present at a meeting of Presbytery in Kirkcaldy, and was appointed to act
as Clerk for the time. Guided by the name, we have some reason to think
that he vvas a native of Hillend, a hamlet in the parish of Inverkeithing.
Ordained, 4th April 1759. Knowing that the position was beset with diffi-
culties, the Synod missioned him to America the year after, but the appoint-
ment was withdrawn. In the early part of Mr Reid's ministry there were
jarrings between Lauder and Earlston about the marches, and the minister
and session of Lauder were complained of for taking in members from within
the bounds of Earlston, but it was decided at last that any new seceders
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 447
living nearer Lauder should be at liberty to join the church there, whatever
the formal boundaries might be. In a few years the Presbytery had to in-
quire into the state of the congregation as to the support they gave their
minister. The stipend seems to have been only ^35, and they were ^50 in
arrears. But worse still was the little hold Mr Reid had of his people. Thus
at a congregational meeting called to consider what was to be done only two
or three persons attended, and when the Presbytery talked of loosing Mr
Reid from his charge the commissioners were silent, and then indicated that
they had no view of matters being made better. The case having been re-
ferred to the Synod, no person appeared from Lauder, and on 2nd October
1764 it was agreed to sever the connection. Mr Reid was at the same
sederunt appointed to preach within the bounds of Perth and Dunfermline
Presbytery, and in a few months he was inducted to Pathstruie.
Second Minister. — David Wilson, from Howgate. Another call to
Dunblane came too late, as the very day on which it was sustained Edin-
burgh Presbytery, his trials being finished, arranged for his ordination at
Lauder. The statement that he was also called to Whitburn is a mistake.
Ordained, 15th March 1768. Died, as his tombstone in Penicuik Church-
yard states, 7th August 1770, aged twenty-eight, so that his ministry extended
over little more than two years.
Third Minister. — Robert COLVILLE, from Duns (East). Ordained, 3rd
August 1780, after a vacancy of ten years. The call was signed by 60 (male)
communicants, which sets aside the statement that the membership during
his ministry never exceded 70. Of Mr Colville we have a glimpse in the
Memoir of Dr Pringle of Perth. The two were room-mates their first
session at college, when they were about the age of fifteen, and they kept up
family worship together. On one occasion, when Mr Pringle was ill, we see
his fellow-student sitting by his bedside singing, by his request, the 63rd
Psalm, and then reading the 8th chapter of Romans, and engaging in prayer.
In 1808 the congregation sustained some damage by a number of members
going over to the Constitutional Presbytery. They stated, on petitioning
for sermon, that the moderator of session had signified his adherence to the
Synod, but had nothing more to say on the subject. They were now taken
under the inspection of the " Old Light " Presbytery, and were to receive as
much supply as possible. The cause never came to anything, though
probably the party would connect themselves with Kelso or Edinburgh,
great as the distance was. In February 1818 Lauder reported 87 communi-
cants, and a stipend of ^45, with house and garden. There was also a rig
of land which a female member of the congregation had made over for the
benefit of Mr Colville and his successors, of which the value was given at
^2, 5s. a year. The case was one which the Presbytery considered entitled
to aid from the Synod. Mr Colville died, 6th February 1824, in the seventy-
third year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministry. His widow, who was
a daughter of the Rev. John Milligan, Antiburgher minister of Urr, died,
6th October 1841, aged eighty-six. The steps now taken towards the
amalgamating of the two sister churches in Lauder, and what followed,
belong to the history of the United congregation.
LAUDER (Burgher)
At the Burgher Synod in April 1793 ^ petition signed by 95 members of
Stow congregation residing in Lauder district requested supply of sermon in
that town. Supply was granted, and, in spite of opposition from the session
of Stow, was continued, the services being held in a large barn. The
448 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
struggle went on till September 1794, when the Synod granted a disjunction
from Stow, and on 7th October a Committee of Presbytery constituted the
petitioners into a congregation. Next year the church, with 432 sittings,
was opened by Dr Lawson of Selkirk, who preached from the text : " Israel
hath forgotten his Maker, and buildeth temples," which would give him an
opportunity of warning his hearers against trusting to the externals of
religion.
First Minister.— G¥.OKG¥. Henderson, from Ecclefechan. The call
was signed by 88 members and 45 adherents, and the minister was to have
^65 of stipend, £2, los. at each communion, and a manse and garden, with
the promise of other ^5 when the membership reached 300. Ordained, 9th
November 1796. Called to Aberdeen (now St Nicholas') a year afterwards,
but owing to want of harmony the call was not prosecuted. In 1809 Mr
Henderson, who seems to have had popular gifts, was called to Carlisle, but
the Presbytery decided to continue him in Lauder. Mr Tait gives a peculiar
experience Mr Henderson had from being bold enough to open a Sabbath
school at Lauder. For this offence, and for employing "unqualified
teachers" to aid him in work which pertained to the parish minister and
the parish teacher, he was summoned to appear before the Established
Presbytery of Earlston. Having disregarded the summons he was handed
over to be dealt with by the Sheriff. That official, having applied for a
sight of the books used in the school, Mr Henderson "satisfied production,"
and the New Testament and Shorter Catechism were forthcoming, and the
case collapsed. But Mr Henderson's otherwise successful ministry got
clouded before the close. On i6th December 1823 he requested the Presby-
tery for pulpit supply, and also for a committee to meet with him and his
office - bearers about the state of the congregation. A recommendation
followed to abstain from ministerial duty. On i8th May 1824, after a long
and friendly conversation, in which" urgency was employed, he demitted his
charge, assigning continued indisposition as the reason. The congregation,
being appealed to, were satisfied that the resignation should be accepted,
and with difficulty it was arranged that, besides paying stipend up to date
and beyond it, they would give him an allowance of ^20 a year for ten years,
or until he should be settled over another church. Then on 22nd June 1824
the second congregation of Lauder was declared vacant, and at this point
its history merges in the history of the United congregation.
At a subsequent meeting the Presbytery had some dealings with Mr
Henderson as to the debility which led to the resignation of his charge.
Deep grief was expressed for the past, and watchfulness promised for the
future. With this acknowledgment his brethren rested satisfied. Mr
Henderson must have lingered about the place for some time, as the Presby-
tery found it needful on ist March 1825 to enjoin him to do no ministerial
work within the bounds of Lauder congregation. He finally withdrew to
Brydekirk, a village two or three miles from Ecclefechan, where he died,
i8th October 1826, in the fifty-sixth year of his age.
LAUDER (United)
At the time the first congregation in Lauder fell vacant the other was
requiring supply owing to Mr Henderson's unfitness for duty, and while his
case was pending sermon was furnished to the two pulpits alternately. The
membership of the first congregation was so much reduced that all thoughtl
of another minister seems to have been abandoned. When Mr Henderson's
resignation was accepted in June 1824 the way was opened up for union on
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 44^
equitable terms, though the end was not gained without impediments. On
4th January 1825 a petition from the elders and managers of the first con-
gregation represented that, unless a certain grievance was removed, they
could not unite on the basis proposed. This led to the appointment of a
committee to put matters to rights, if that were practicable. On 1st March
the two congregations were declared to be henceforth one, the conditions of
union being that each was to enjoy the property and privileges, and that the
joint membership was to be equally eligible to the management, and equally
under obligation to bear the burdens. Then, as a concession apparently to
the first congregation, which was the weaker vessel, it was agreed on both
sides that Mrs Colville should have her lifetime of the manse she was in, if
she remained in Lauder, and, if she left, that those who formed the first con-
gregation should have the disposal of the rent for two years. On this
footing the amalgamation was effected, and a session constituted consisting
of those who had been elders in either congregation.
First Minister. — William Lowrie, from North Leith. Ordained, 17th
January 1826. At the first moderation three candidates were proposed, of
whom Mr Lowrie stood first, and was declared chosen. But when the call
was brought up to the Presbytery they found that it could not be sustained,
as the presiding minister had not conformed to rule. Mr Lowrie not
having an absolute majority, the name of the candidate who stood lowest
should have been dropped, and the vote taken again, but this had not been
done. Hence the ground had to be gone over again, and the result was a call
signed by 212 members, which was unanimously sustained. The stipend
was to be ;^ioo, including sacramental expenses, and there was the manse
and garden. They were also to add ^20 at the end of nine years if their
circumstances admitted, that being the time when Mr Henderson's allowance
was to cease. But neither Mr Henderson nor Mr Lowrie was to see the
expiry of that period. In the case of the young minister consumption set in,
and he died, 6th July 1833, in the thirty-first year of his age and eighth of
his ministry. The last months of his waning life were spent in the
manse of his elder brother at East Calder, the Rev. Alexander Lowrie. The
two brothers had passed through the preparatory course together, they
received licence from Edinburgh Presbytery on the same day, and they
were ordained within a fortnight of each other. Mr Lowrie took an active
part in the Voluntary Controversy, and issued a pamphlet on the subject,
entitled " The Whole Question of Ecclesiastical Establishments considered."
A volume of his discourses was published in 1834, with a Memoir by the
Rev. Thomas Williamson, Melrose.
Second Minister. — George R0B.SON, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars).
Though the union between the two congregations had now lasted for
nine years the coalescence, it is to be feared, had never been perfect, and
now there was what came to an open rupture. On the moderation day
there voted for Mr Robson 150, and for Mr W. R. Thorburn 120.* As 197
members signed the call and only 95 opposed the sustaining, it is to be
inferred that a considerable number of the minority acquiesced ; but there
was a little party that refused to yield, and hence the origin of the Relief
congregation in Lauder. As is usual in such cases, undue influence was
alleged, but the Presbytery found nothing established to arrest procedure,
* William R. Thorburn, M.A., was from the town of Blantyre and the con-
gregation of Blackswell, Hamilton. Ordained at Halfold, a village near Rochdale,
Lancashire, on 22nd October 1834. Resigned, 14th April 1S47, and became an
Indej>endent minister at Bury, where he died, 2nd March 1875, in the sixty-ninth
year of his age. He was the author of a Memoir prefixed to a volume of sermons by
Mr Robert Wardrop, referred to under Tay Square, Dundee.
n. 2F
45^
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and after full consideration unanimously sustained the call, and Mr Robson
was ordained, 14th October 1834. His experience at this time may have led
him to look with disfavour on the proposal to unite with the Relief Church,
and may have tempted him to take part in the little opposition that was
going. Under his ministry the congregation increased till the membership
reached a maximum of 420. The stipend in the end of 1854 was raised from
^100 to ^120, and there was also the rig of land which had been possessed
since Mr Colville's time. There was besides this the interest on ^100
bequeathed by a female member of the congregation. In 1837 a new manse
was built, most of the expense being met by the sale of the old manse and
other property. In 1841 the present church, with sittings for 594, was
erected at a cost of some ;^6oo, and opened on loth October of that year.
The old building was then fitted up as a schoolroom. In 1885 Mr Robson,
owing to failing eyesight and the weight of years, was provided with a
colleague. The membership at this time was 266, and the stipend from the
people ^157, los.
Third Minister. — THOMAS Keir, M.A., from Scone, a younger brother
of the Rev. David Keir, Dennyloanhead, and an elder brother of the Rev.
WilHam Keir, English Presbyterian Church, Bellingham. Ordained, 27th
October 1885, having previously declined a call to Muckart. The junior
minister was to have ^130, and the senior ^40, with the manse. Mr
Robson died, 8th September 1893, in the eighty-seventh year of his age
and fifty-ninth of his ministry. He left behind him a volume of sermons,
entitled " Christ is all and in all," which was pubHshed in 1867. The member-
ship of the congregation at the close of 1899 was 216, and the stipend from
the people ^180, with the manse.
LAUDER (Relief)
The Secession Synod at their meeting in September 1834 had a cause from
Lauder before them. The little party opposed to Mr Robson's settlement
had been refused a disjunction by the Presbytery of Selkirk, and they pro-
tested to the Synod. They were only 70 in number, and two congregations
in Lauder, with iioo inhabitants, had already been found one too many.
A committee was appointed to meet with both parties and endeavour to
effect a reconciliation, but in the end the rupture was wider than before.
"While the commissioners from the majority were willing to receive the
others with open arms, and to apologise for anything that had occasioned
irritation, the commissioners from the minority persisted in their determina-
tion to demand a disjunction, unless the call to Mr Robson were laid aside,
or Mr Robson declined accepting it." But it was too late to think of either
alternative now, as the ordination was appointed to take place in a fortnight.
At next meeting of Synod in April 1835 ^ protest, the same in purport as
before, was brought up for judgment. The petition which the Presbytery
had refused to grant was subscribed by only 26 members and supported
by 17 others. Two motions were made — the one for refusing the disjunction
and the other for granting it. The first carried, and the petitioners ceased
from all connection with the Courts of the United Secession Church.
A new leaf is now to be turned. On 2nd June following the Relief
Presbytery of Kelso received a petition from a number of persons in Lauder
and its vicinity craving to be taken under their inspection and supplied with
sermon. The petition was granted without hesitancy, and Mr Durie of
Eariston appointed to preach there on Sabbath first. On 7th December
the Presbytery agreed to have the applicants organised into a congregation,
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 451
and a roll of n:kembership made up. Next came one petition and then
another for aid from the Home Mission Fund, and these brought ^16 to
keep sermon going. Collections were also required once and again from
the several congregations within the bounds. The Presbytery, however,
reported to the Synod in 1837 that their station at Lauder was fast assum-
ing a more promising aspect. A place of worship, with sittings for 330, was
now in course of erection, though the people were much in want of money
to pay for the mason work. In March 1838 we get fuller insight into the
state of their affairs. The church, which was opened on Sabbath, 3rd
January, cost ^355, and this was reduced by subscriptions and Presbytery
collections to ^311. Including arrears for ordinary expenses, the debt
amounted to at least ^^340, while over against this the income from collec-
tions and seat rents was barely ^40 a year. The committee of inquiry
pledged the Presbytery to widen the area of collections, and they strongly
recomrnended the congregation to proceed without delay in making choice
of a minister. Thus encouraged, the people addressed a call to the Rev.
Thomas M'Creath, the first preacher sent to them, but he had been ordained
soon after at South Shields. This movement came to nothing, as the
Presbytery, on hearing the mind of Mr M'Creath, agreed to go no further.
First Minister.— ]oviS Hamilton, who had been ordained over the
Congregational church at Blackburn, near Bathgate, in 1825. Inducted to
Lauder on 2nd January 1839. The call was signed by 29 members and
30 adherents, and a stipend was promised of ^80. A ministry of six years
followed, and then on 28th January 1845 Mr Hamilton wrote the Presbytery
that, having delivered a series of discourses on the nature and extent of the
Atonement, he had given offence to one or two of his brethren, who intended
to carry the matter into the Church Courts. He had, therefore, made up his
mind to retire from the present place of worship with those who adhered
to him, "that they and I," he said, "may worship God in peace and
harmony according to our conscientious views of His blessed Word," and he
now tendered his resignation as pastor of the Relief church, Lauder. A
meeting of Presbytery was held in the church, which the Moderator had
summoned Mr Hamilton to attend ; but he made answer by letter that it
would do no good for him to be present, and that any decision of theirs
as to the extent of the Atonement would be nothing to him. On 25th
February Mr Hamilton was declared out of connection with the Relief
Synod. The other party had been getting sermon these Sabbaths from
members of Presbytery, but how they would bear up under this disaster
remained to be seen.
We may now outline Mr Hamilton's course as a minister. In April 1838,
when he appHed for admission to the Relief, he had left Blackburn, and was
preaching in Leith. His wish was to be received along with the congrega-
tion he had gathered, but as they numbered only about 100 members, and
had no permanent place of worship, this was not agreed to. It also came
out that much of his time was occupied with teaching and acting as a city
missionary. When his application came before the Synod they instructed
the Presbytery of Edinburgh to receive him as a licentiate if satisfied as to
"his literary attainments, his aptness to teach, the unblamableness of his
reputation, and the coincidence of his sentiments with the principles of the
Synod." After delivering a discourse before them and signing the Con-
fession of Faith he was admitted to the status of a probationer on 30th
October 1838, and in little more than two months he was inducted to Lauder,
On withdrawing with his adherents from the Relief place of worship he
joined the Evangelical Union, and left soon after to find some other field of
labour in that connection. In 1848 he was in Wishawtown. From 1849-53
452 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
he was in Carluke. In 1854 he was in Dunbar, and in 1856 he was in
Dalkeith. Next year his name is not to be found on the clerical list. He
afterwards acted as a missionary in Dalkeith, and died there, 20th September
1864, in the seventy-second year of his age.
The Rehef church at Lauder under Mr Hamilton's ministry had after a
time to be aided regularly from the Home Mission Fund. Now their
numbers and their resources were lessened through Mr Hamilton's with-
drawal, but efforts were made to keep it going. At the Relief Synod of
1846 it was reported that they had received ^48 for preachers, and on the
following year a similar sum was reported. At the first meeting of Presby-
tery after the Union in May 1847 a statement of their circumstances was
made, with an intimation of their desire to be dissolved. This being agreed
to, Mr Blair of Galashiels was appointed to meet with them on the evening
of Sabbath, 20th June, announce the deed of Presbytery, and grant
certificates to members. But the creditors who had money lying on the
building were still to be reckoned with, and this was a formidable affair for
those on whom the burden rested. The cost, as has been stated, amounted
to between ^300 and ^400, and we find that in 1845 there was a grant of
^100 received from the Debt Liquidating Fund, and the rule in those cases
was that the aided congregations should raise an equal amount. Still, in the
end a sum of ^270 was owing, and the sale of the church only brought ^80.
An appeal was now made to the Synod on behalf of the three men on whose
responsibility the church had been erected, as they were not in circumstances
to meet the demands or bear the loss. A committee was appointed to
devise measures for the liquidation of the debt, but at next Synod they had
scarcely succeeded in raising ^20. It was now agreed to grant ^100 from
the general fund as soon as enough had been raised to clear off what re-
mained of the ;!^I90. This is the last we hear of the Relief congregation in
Lauder.
The whole case may be taken as illustrating how hard it is to bring two
congregations in the same place, though united, to work together in perfect
harmony. At the time Mr Lowrie was called there was division and con-
siderable opposition, but we are told it died rapidly away after his ordination.
At the next moderation the rent widened, and at the head of the party
which originated the Relief church there are two family names which had
been prominent in the weaker congregation. One of these was Mr Robert
Torrie, who appeared as a commissioner for the protestors against sustaining
the call to Mr Robson, and he acted in the same capacity when it was found
needful to have the Relief congregation dissolved. The movement was a
mistake from the first, and it only brought disappointment, labour, and
sorrow. It is to be hoped that after the affair had run its course a goodly
number of the disruptionists settled down contentedly under Mr Robson's
ministry. The church they built, whatever it may be now, was occupied at
one time as a grocer's shop.
NEWCASTLETON (Burgher)
The origin of this congregation links itself with an unpopular settlement at
Castleton, the largest parish in the south of Scotland, being eighteen miles
in length by fourteen in breadth, but very thinly peopled. Mr Simon
Haliburton was the presentee, and we learn from the Scots Magazine that in
November 1750 there were five persons imprisoned at Edinburgh for riotous
conduct on the day appointed for reading the edict. The settlement was
violently opposed, among others by Lord Minto, but the Presbytery found
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 453
they could not take objections into account unless these related to matters of
life or doctrine. As for the use of notes in preaching, there was no law of
the Church against it, and it was practised by several ministers of high
standing. Accordingly, Mr Haliburton was ordained on 23rd January 175 1,
but so unpopular was he that in 1759 he was obliged to employ an assistant,
and in 1763 he was translated to Ashkirk. On 3rd September 1751 some
people in Liddesdale petitioned the Antiburgher Presbytery of Edinburgh
for occasional supply. They belonged to the congregations of Midholm and
Ciateshaw, and were, they said, at a very great distance from their places of
worship. For most of them this can hardly have been less than thirty miles,
and it is remarkable that the attractions of the Secession pulpit told at
a circumference so remote ; but beyond the services of a preacher on the
third Sabbath of October, and the observance of a Fast on the following
Wednesday, there was nothing done. About two years later a beginning
was made by the Burgher Presbytery of Edinburgh with better success. In
June 1753 they received a petition from Liddesdale for frequent supply, and
the first church, a very primitive building, on the banks of the Liddle, must
have been erected soon after, though eight years were to be lost before they
obtained a fixed ministry.
The first they called was Mr James Wylie, but he had no favour for settling
down in the corner of the Moss at Liddesdale, and, much to the chagrin of
the Borderers, he was ordained at Scone. The next was Mr William
Ronaldson, of whom little is known beyond this, that he was afterwards
minister at Scarva, in Ireland. Next came a call to Mr James Mitchell, a
rebellious subject who struggled with Presbyteries and Synod against the
acceptance of one call after another, and ended by never being ordained at
all. Newcastleton was the first to claim him, but the Presbytery may not
have been anxious to forward proceedings, as they had fault to find with his
unchristian conduct, and in their dealings with him he gave them little
satisfaction. {See Dunning, Burgher.)
First Minister. — James Fletcher, seemingly from Dalkeith. Or-
dained, 1 2th May 1762. Eleven years after this the Synod recommended
collections to aid Liddesdale with the rebuilding of their place of worship,
so that the first church must have been early displaced. As Mr Fletcher
advanced in years his acceptability may have been impaired, and, according
to the Old Statistical History, the congregation in 1793 was very much on
the decline. His ministry ended in circumstances which merit narration.
On 28th April 1801 the Presbytery of Selkirk was confronted with a report
that he was preaching doctrine inconsistent with the standards of the
Church, and he was to be required to attend next meeting, but he neither
appeared nor sent an apology for absence. A committee, after going out to
Liddesdale, reported that their efforts to convince him of error had failed,
and the Presbytery, after long reasoning with him, charged him solemnly to
be silent on the particular point involved. At next meeting they decided to
refer the case to the Synod, but not "because they were in any dubiety
whether Mr Fletcher's doctrine should be tolerated in the body." At the
afternoon sederunt, as they were proceeding to consider what should be
done with the congregation, Mr Fletcher came forward, and read a demission
of his charge. It is a long and artless production, which discloses to us the
merits of the case, and may be briefly gone over as follows : -
Pending himself in a state of spiritual decline he had been praying for
more light on the Doctrine of the Trinity, in order to the reviving of his
faith and love. Going down one day to a low room in the manse he found
an old pamphlet lying on the floor, without either title-page or conclusion.
Opening it at random he saw that it bore on the personal properties of the
454- HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Son and Spirit, and advanced proofs, weighty and strong, that they are
every way equal to the Father, and in everything, divine. From this he was
led to the conviction that there is no such subordination on the part of the
second person in the Godhead as the word Son implies, and that this term
bears only on the relation in which He stands to the Father in the work of
redemption. It is a phase of doctrine that has occasionally cropped up in
the Church, but the conception had for Mr Fletcher all the attractions of
novelty. Then, by studying a larger pamphlet on the same subject by the
same author, but printed six years later, he was of opinion that his under-
standing had been opened to understand the Scriptures better than before.
The title was: "A Clear Display of the Trinity from Divine Revelation."
Both pamphlets came into his hand in a way which he believed betokened
the intervention of God.
At this time he was also feeling that the next spring would end his days,
" the former seasons having been so severe," and he was sure that he would
have deep regrets if he did not declare that part of the counsel of God, "so
I came out with it." The text he preached from that day was : " I will hear
what God the Lord will speak." He told the people he did not desire them
to alter their mind without good reason, but he hoped they would search the
Scriptures whethej these things were so. He was also satisfied that, had he
got time to give his congregation line upon line, very few of them would
have opposed him, but now that the affair had been dealt with by the
Presbytery they united against him. Besides this, his brethren were binding
him up from preaching what he believed to be true and scriptural doctrine,
and for these reasons he now committed the Associate congregation of
Liddesdale into their hands. On ist September 1801 the Synod accepted
Mr Fletcher's demission, and instructed the Presbytery of Selkirk to en-
deavour to reclaim him from his error. During the little of his life that
remained Mr Fletcher resided in or near Dalkeith, and, though Edinburgh
Presbytery had some dealings with him, his views were fixed. In P'ebruary
1803 it was advertised in the Sco/s Magazine that his "Orthodox Scheme"
was to appear immediately, but it is doubtful whether this promise was ever
redeemed. He died soon afterwards, as the register of Newbattle parish
shows that on 6th June 1803 the sum of los. 3d. was paid for the mort cloth
at Mr James Fletcher's funeral, and his widow received the first payment of
her annuity in the following year.
Dr M'Kelvie's statement is that Mr Fletcher was charged with heresy in
connection with a preface he had written to a new edition of a work by Dr
Isaac Watts on "The Sonship of Christ," but there is nothing to that effect
in the Minutes of Presbytery. According to Mr Tait, Mr Fletcher was fitted
for attaining distinction in the exact sciences, but, if so, his cast of mind
might tend to lead him astray when he ventured in among the deep things
of God. The theory which fascinated him did not amount to palpable error,
but its tendency was considered to be Unitarian. Dr Balmer tells some-
where of similar views having been propounded by one of his students in a
Hall discourse, and how he criticised it with a severity which he afterwards
regretted.
The congregation of Liddesdale was reduced almost beneath the level of
a regular ministerial charge when Mr Fletcher left. But in January 1804
the name was changed to Newcastleton in the Presbytery records. This
was a village of recent growth to which they had removed from the old site,
two miles off, and where they built a new church, with sittings for 400.
Second Minister. — WALTER DUNLOP, from Hawick (East Bank). The
moderation was kept back because of the inadequacy of the stipend offered,
though the Presbytery owned it was up to the ability of the people. At last
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 455
they named £70, with the manse, and the proceedings went on. When the
call was brought up it was found to be signed by members and adherents
promiscuously, but, two of the elders being present, they were asked to look
over the names, and give in at next sederunt a list of those in full com-
munion. They proved to be a diminutive company — 64 in number — but Mr
Dunlop accepted, and was ordained, 15th August 1804. In February 1810
he was called to Dumfries, and on nth April Translate carried at the Synod
by a great majority. The congregation had grown much during those six
years, and they were now to offer ^100 of stipend, with manse and garden.
They were also to accommodate their minister with a horse till they had put
the six acres of land which they possessed into a proper state of cultivation.
When this was done it would be given him "to enable him to keep a horse
for himself" The first call they issued on these terms was not successful,
Mr William Willans, the object of their choice, being appointed to Pitcairn.
Third Minister. — John Law, from Linlithgow (West). Ordained, 26th
August 181 2. Mr Law had other two calls, one of them from Kilmarnock (now
Portland Road), a congregation of at least three times the strength every
way, but Newcastleton, having been disappointed already, got the preference
from the Synod. The present call was signed by 161 members. On 9th
September 1828 he was loosed from Newcastleton by deed of Synod and
translated to Dunfermline (St Margaret's).
Fourth Minister. — John BlacKj from Airdrie, but brought up in the
parish church of New Monkland, under the ministry of the father of Dr
Begg, Edinburgh. Entered the Secession Hall in 1821, and ordained,
7th October 1829. Even under Mr Black's able ministry controversy dis-
turbed the peace of the congregation, of which the result was the erection
of an Evangelical Union church, with sittings for 138. After a very brief
ministry they were vacant from 1851 to 1866, and since then they have
had eight ministers, with two wide blanks between. In 1875 Mr Black's
church was transformed and the manse repaired. There was a member-
ship at this time of 210, and the people furnished a stipend of ^156, with
the manse, and there was a supplement of ;^40. The outlay of ;^5oo on
the property was met by subscriptions, two of the members heading the
list with ^50 each. Mr Black died suddenly on 30th November 1879, in
the seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry. His jubilee
had been celebrated on Tuesday, the 7th of August, when he was presented
with a portrait of himself and a purse of 210 sovereigns. He was the father
of Dr Armstrong Black, then of Palmerston Place, Edinburgh.
Fifth Minister. — James Snadden, from Lochgelly. Ordained, 20th
July 1880. At the close of 1899 there was a membership of 178, and the
stipend from the people was ;^I40, with the manse, which had recently
undergone considerable improvement.
HAWICK, ORROCK PLACE (Antiburgher)
The parish pulpit of Hawick was filled from 1757 to 1783 by Mr James
Laurie, whom Carlyle of Inveresk describes as "an uncommon character."
He was a general romancer, making himself " amusing by the relation of
fictitious stories." In student days he had joined a band of gipsies' one
season during his vacation, and this furnished him with exhaustless material
for "fiction and rhodomontade." A visit to London, where he stayed for
some time, was turned to like account, many stories being founded on it
of his intimacy with the Lord Chancellor, the speaker of the House of
Commons, and other personages of distinction— stories which set tryth and
456 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
credibility alike at defiance. Carlyle also records two specimens of his
pugnacity after he had entered on the functions of the ministry. Such was
the situation of affairs in the Established church of Hawick for some years
before the Antiburgher congregation was formed. This was in or about
1763, when some families previously connected with Midholm, nine miles
distant, obtained sermon for themselves. In April 1765 a call from Hawick
to the Rev. Richard Jerment of Peebles was before the Synod, along with
three others, but it carried not to transport. A year later they were in
competition with Haddington for Mr Laurence Wotherspoon, but here
again they were unsuccessful. The first church is believed to have been
built about this time.
First Minister. — John Young, from Milnathort. Ordained, 7th October
1767. In 1780 the congregation reported some 400 examinable persons,
and a stipend of ^47, los., with a dwelling-house, and ;^3, los. at each
communion, and in 1797 they were giving ^12, los. additional. In 1794
Mr Young published a«volume of " Essays on Government, Revolution, etc.,"
which brought him the degree of D.D. from King's College, Aberdeen,
before the end of the year, so that he was the first Secession minister, next
to Dr Jamieson, who attained to that distinction. It also procured its author
the offer of a pension from the Tory Government of the day, which was
afterwards enjoyed by his daughters. But some of his brethren alleged
that in these Essays he played fast and loose with Secession principles, as
he went very much on the assumption that whatever is done by the powers
that be must be right. A committee was even appointed by the Synod to
examine the book, and report on its contents, but the matter went no
further. Dr Young also took up Paine's " Age of Reason " in a series of
Sabbath evening discourses, and got large audiences. He died, 25th March
1806, in the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-ninth of his ministry.
About a year before his death his voice became so much affected by palsy
that he could not make himself audible to his congregation, and a colleague
was required. To this period there is reference in the Life of Dr Heugh,
who preached there as a candidate, and wrote down in his diary : " No
degree of attachment to the people or the place. No spirit in the delivery
of the discourses." A call followed, but he expressed strongly his dishke
to the thought of being settled there, one reason being the illiberal manner
in which the people seemed to treat the claims of Dr Young. It does not
appear, however, that in the arrangement come to there was much to
complain of, Dr Young being to receive the stipend hitherto paid him.
But when the vote was taken Mr Heugh was appointed colleague to his
father at Stirling instead of being sent to Hawick, which was now vacant
by the death of Dr Young. Besides the pamphlet already referred to, the
Doctor published three volumes of sermons, and a "History of the French
War," in two volumes. A daughter of his was the wife of the Rev. William
Patrick of Lockerbie, and another was married to Mr Alexander Davidson,
lecturer on chemistry.*
* Alexander Davidson was from the parish of Newbattle and the congregation of
Dalkeith (Back Street). His application for admission to the Hall was submitted
to the Synod in 1794, the Presbytery of Edinburgh being in difficulties how to deal
with it, as he was totally blind. Mr Davidson explained that he would take no
offence though the Synod should ultimately decline to receive him on trials for licence.
He was enrolled at Whitburn as a student in 1795, the name standing with a cross
beside it, and the words his mark. He attended four sessions, but went no further.
He became an itinerant lecturer, especially in chemistry, in which his wife's services
were indispensable. Died at Kendal, iSth March 1826, aged fifty-seven. His
widow became the wife of Dr Thomas Dick. {See Viewfield, Stirling.)
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 457
Second Minister. — Andrew Rodgie, from Abernethy. Called to Jed-
burgh as well as to Hawick, but the Presbytery unanimously decided for
Hawick, on the ground that it had been "longer deprived of ordinances,
and had been previously disappointed." Ordained, 1 8th August 1807. The
strength of the congregation in the early part of the century can only be
estimated from the fact that the (male) members who signed the call to
Mr Heugh numbered 90, and there is nothing beyond this to fall back on till
1836. The communicants were then given at 400, and one-third of the
congregation was from the parish of Wilton. The church, with sittings for
over 600, was rebuilt in 1823 at a cost of fully ^900, and ^400 of this
remained as debt on the building. The stipend was ^108, with a manse.
In 1855 it was supplemented ^10, and made ^120 in all. Next year a
colleague was arranged for, who was to have ;^iio, and Mr Rodgie ^90,
with the manse.
Third Minister. — James Parlane, M.A., from Helensburgh. Ordained,
4th August 1857, having declined a call to Perth (North) a considerable
time before. In October of the previous year Mr Rodgie's jubilee was
celebrated, and he was presented with a purse containing 90 sovereigns.
He died, i6th January, i860, in the seventy-seventh year of his age and
fifty-third of his ministry. Mr Parlane remained sole pastor for nine years,
and then on 5th January 1869 he accepted a call to Burntisland. The
congregation in the course of that year called Mr Forrest F. Young, who
preferred Kilcreggan.
Fourth Miftister. — Thomas Cockburn, M.A., from Berwick (Wallace
Green). Called previously to Burra Isles and Kinghorn. Ordained at
Hawick, 22nd December 1869. The membership at this time was 250, and
the stipend ^150, with the manse, which was sold in 1875, ^"d replaced by
another at an additional expenditure of ^688, of which ^200 came from the
Manse Board, and ^488 was raised by the people. The present church, with
sittings for 580, and built at a cost of ^3300, including the site, was opened
on Tuesday, i6th June 1874, by Professor Cairns. The collections amounted
to ^220. The debt having been cleared off in 1881 the congregation
became self-supporting, the stipend being raised to £200. The membership
at the close of 1899 was 300.
HAWICK, EAST BANK (Burgher)
This congregation was formed by disjunctions from the Burgher congtegation
of Selkirk in 1773, but they may have had sermon occasionally a year or two
earlier. Though distant twelve miles from the place of worship we find from
the session Minutes that in 1766 they were numerous enough to require an
elder for the district. But in September 1772 commissioners from that wing
of the congregation appeared before Selkirk session craving a disjunction
that they might be erected into a distinct congregation. In January 1773
a petition to the same effect was given in signed by 19 adult males. There
was much demur expressed, and a meeting of the congregation summoned
to pronounce on the matter ; but no person appeared, and on 7th March it
was agreed to disjoin the people who desired it in the parishes of Hawick,
Roberton, Wilton, and the west part of Minto. The Minutes of Edinburgh
Presbytery for that period having disappeared, no further particulars as to
the organising of East Bank congregation can be given.
First Minister. — George Williamson, from Alloa (West). Ordained,
14th September 1774. Wherever the blame may have lain this proved an
unfortunate beginning. It is said, indeed, in a biographical notice of Mr
458
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Williamson's successor, that when he went "he found the congregation,
through the offensive peculiarities of his predecessor, a mere wreck." In
March 1783 a petition and representation came up to the Presbytery from
Hawick praying for a reduction of their minister's stipend, but they were
told in return that they were culpably deficient in this matter considering
their numbers. Confusion ensued, and on 3rd February 1784 Mr Williamson
demitted his charge, "partly because of the torn and distracted state of his
congregation, and partly because he could not, for certain reasons, join in
sealing ordinances with the eldership of it, or with their strenuous partisans
in carrying on an opposition to his ministry." It being found impractic-
able, to heal differences and restore harmony, the resignation was accepted
on 6th April, and after some years of probationership Mr Williamson was
admitted to St Andrews. Whatever his "offensive peculiarities" may have
been, there was a party in the congregation to befriend him, and a year
afterwards they brought a complaint before the Synod against the Presbytery
of Kelso for having dealt too leniently with his opposers ; but it was dis-
missed and the Presbytery counselled to exert themselves to promote peace.
If the congregation were faulty in relation to their first minister they had
now a penalty to pay in the shape of a seven years' vacancy. Applications
for a moderation were persistently refused, partly perhaps to give time for
salutary reflection, and when, after long delay, they called, first Mr John
Smart and then Mr William Kidston, the former was appointed to Stirling
and the latter to Kennoway.
Second Minister. — James Henderson, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars).
Notwithstanding what Hawick had come through their call was signed by
249 members and 71 adherents, and it was preferred without a vote to other
calls from Airdrie and Kirkintilloch. The time to favour this congregation
had now come, and we are told that under Mr Henderson's ministry it
soon became a large and prosperous community. He was ordained, 26th
October 1791, and this was succeeded by forty years of order and peace.
About the close of that period there was a break in his labours, and there is
reference made to a constitutional malady which on some occasions laid
him aside from his public work. In 1832 Mr Alexander Davidson was
called to be Mr Henderson's colleague, but he was appointed by the Synod
to School Wynd, Dundee.
Third Minister. — Adam Thomson, son of the Rev. Dr Thomson of
Coldstream. A prior call to Dunoon had been pending for months, but
when Hawick was coming into view Mr Thomson intimated to the con-
gregation and the Presbytery that he was clear against accepting, and the
call was taken out of the way. Ordained as colleague to Mr Henderson,
1 2th June 1833. Before proceeding further we may outline the state of the
congregation in 1836. The communicants were fully 700, having increased
150 since Mr Thomson's ordination. Of families, much the larger number
were from other parishes, most of them from Wilton, Cavers, Kirkton,
Roberton, and Hobkirk. In Wilton alone there were only two-fifths fewer
than in Hawick. The junior minister, on whom we may believe the burden
of the work devolved, received ^100 a year, and the senior minister ^85,
with manse, garden, and ground attached. The church, with 750 sittings,
and built in 1780, carried a debt of ^380. Seventy-three families were more
than four miles from the church, and nearly half of these more than six.
A case of considerable interest came before the Synod in October 1837
from this congregation. A proposal to build a manse for the junior minister
had been agreed to in regular form, but a few of the members afterwards
came forward insisting that the mind of the people had not been fully
ascertained, coupled with a demand for a second meeting. It was rather
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 459
late to interpose a barrier, as operations were begun ; nevertheless, threats
were held out that, unless their demand were complied with, they would call
in an interdict, and prevent the work going on. The session on this ground
suspended five of the leaders from membership, but the Presbytery removed
the sentence as unduly severe. Against that decision Mr Thomson and the
whole of the elders appealed to the Synod, the old minister alone being on the
other side. The case occupied two sederunts of the Synod, and led to
strong speaking ; but while reprobating an appeal to a Civil Court, since
the matter admitted of being otherwise dealt with, they decided to remove
the suspension, and instruct the session to admit the parties to Church
privileges on receiving from them an acknowledgment of their error.
Mr Henderson died, 13th November 1840, in the eighty-first year of his
age and fiftieth of his ministry. Mr Thomson remained sole pastor for
nearly twenty years, but on 9th October i860 he was loosed from his
charge, having accepted an invitation to become minister of the United
Presbyterian Church, Sydney, New South Wales. Owing to the state of
his health he had spent the preceding winter in the south of Europe,
and if his usefulnesss was to be conserved it was needful to remove to a
more equable climate. The people expressed much regret at parting with
him, and decided to pay him a half-year's stipend as a token of regard.
Though Mr Thomson was the only U.P. minister in New South Wales
he did much to promote the union of the Presbyterian churches in that
colony, and as an acknowledgment of his services in this way, as well as of
his high ministerial standing, he was chosen Moderator of the United Synod
at its first meeting, in September 1865. He continued in his charge till
September 1873, when he accepted the Principalship of St Andrew's College,
Sydney, an office which he did not long retain, as he died, 9th November
1874, in the sixty-fifth year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — James MacEwen, M.A., translated from Ford, where
he had laboured for over five years. The congregation had previously
called the Rev. John Riddell of Moffat, but he decided not to remove. Mr
MacEwen was inducted, loth June 1862. The stipend was to be .^250,
with sacramental and other expenses. On 9th July 1872 he accepted a call
to Sydney Place, Glasgow. After a time the congregation called the Rev.
James Christie of Carlisle, but he declined.
Fifth Minister. — James Orr, B.D., from Glasgow (now Bath Street).
Called also to Redcar, a new formation on the coast of Yorkshire. Ordained
at East Bank, 3rd February 1874. The stipend was to be ^300, and a
manse, which was afterwards enlarged, and the membership was 520. In
1877 Mr Orr was invited to Tay Square, Dundee, but remained in Hawick.
That year the church was enlarged at a cost of ^1974, of which sum a great
part had been previously subscribed, and a year later the stipend was raised
^50. In 1885 Mr Orr received the degree of D.D. from (ilasgow University,
and on 8th May 1891 he was chosen by the Synod to the Chair of Church
History, and East Bank, Hawick, became vacant. In the early part of that
year Dr Orr had delivered the Kerr Lectures — the first of the series. They
were published in 1893 under the title "The Christian View of God and the
World." Three others 'were nominated for the Chair^namely, the Revs.
William M'Gilchrist, B.D., Ardrossan ; J. P. Mitchell, M.A., Edinburgh ;
and Alexander Hislop, M.A., Helensburgh ; but Dr Orr was carried by a
large absolute majority, and had the volume been out in time it is likely
no other candidate would have been thought of In 1897 Professor Orr
published "The Ritschlian Theology," and this was followed in 1899 by a
volume of special value, entitled " Neglected Factors in the Study of the
Early Progress of Christianity."
46o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Sixth Minister. — Charles Allan, M.A., from Particle (Newton Place).
Ordained, ist March 1892. At the moderation 86 voted for Mr Allan and
84 for the Rev. Robert Primrose of Partick. The stipend named was ^300,
with the manse and travelling expenses, but it was to be ^^50 more if an
ordained minister were chosen. On 24th April 1899 Mr Allan accepted a
call to Finnart Church, Greenock.
Seventh Minister. — Jame.s Brand Scott, B.D., translated from Salt-
coats (West), where he had been for ten years, and inducted, 6th February
1900. The membership at this time was about 580, and the stipend ^300,
with the manse.
HAWICK, ALLARS CHURCH (Relief)
On 24th April 1 810 a petition for sermon was presented to the Relief
Presbytery of Edinburgh by 18 men belonging to Hawick and its neighbour-
hood. The reasons they assigned for the application are scarcely coherent.
They were under the necessity, they said, of opening communication either
with the present Establishment or with such dissenting societies as were
within reach, the opposing alternative being to connect themselves with no
church at all. Some " religions," they held, were too lax in their discipline,
and others were cramped with ceremonies which they set forth as terms of
communion, making their principles too narrow "for those of more enlarged
views to join with." As for the Relief, though they might not keep exactly
by the old paths, they at least held forth the celebrated truths of the gospel
with candour and moderation. Such is the general purport of their paper.
Sermon was granted at once, and in the following year a church, with 750
sittings, was built at a cost of between ^800 and ^900, of which ;^265 was
advanced by members of the congregation in ^5 shares at 4 per cent., and
the rest remained as debt on the building.
First Minister. — David Russell, translated from Colinsburgh, where
he had been ordained the preceding year. Inducted to Hawick, 24th
December 181 2. In an over-sanguine mood the congregation promised a
stipend of ^100, with ^20 for house rent, and ^3, los. at each communion.
As it was, embarrassments arose, and in March 1819 Mr Russell petitioned
the Presbytery to loose him from his charge. He explained that during his
six years in Hawick there had been no diminution in the membership ; but
trade was on the decline, and the people were unable to pay the stipend and
meet other demands. The proper course for him to follow, he felt, was to
ask for the dissolving of the pastoral connection. At next meeting, on 27th
April, this was agreed to, but Mr Russell was warned to take no steps to
recover arrears of stipend without consulting the Presbytery. It comes out
that two of the members had signed a bond for what was promised, and
its terms could be enforced in a Court of Law. He officiated for some
time within the bounds of Edinburgh Presbytery, and was then inducted at
Errol.
Second Minister. — GEORGE CORSON, from Burnhead. Ordained, i8th
October 1820. His stay at Hawick was to be still briefer than that of his
predecessor. Recriminations came in between him and his people, and
a libel was even talked of. Mr Corson inclined to remain, but the pressure
was too much for him, and his resignation was accepted, 23rd July 1824.
He joined the Established Church some time afterwards, and became rector
of Irvine Academy, a fact which proves that he possessed greatly more than
average scholarship. He died at Hillhead, Partick, 15th January 1868, aged
seventy-eight, and a son of his, we believe, became parish minister of
Girvan.
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 461
Third Mmis fer.—FETER Brown, from Glasgow (Hutchesontown).
Ordained, 20th January 1825. The stipend named was ^80, with ^2, los.
for each communion. It was also agreed to give the minister the whole
surplus till the sum of ^100 should be reached. On 15th November 1831
Mr Brown accepted a call to Wishawtown.-
Fourth Minister.— h^YiV^EW M. Ramsay, from Glasgow (ToUcross).
Ordained, 29th May 1833. Under Mr Ramsay's ministry there was marked
improvement for a time. In 1836 he reported the communicants as 393,
being an increase of 150 within three years. The debt was also in course
of reduction, though it still amounted to ^530. The stipend was ^85, which
included everything. Nearly one-fifth of the families were from Wilton, and
a few from Cavers, Kirkton, and Roberton. On the last Sabbath of 1845
Mr Ramsay intimated to his congregation that he was about to leave. He
had been with them for nearly thirteen years, and though the membership
was back to what it was at the beginning of his ministry the debt had been
reduced from ^600 to ^200. His resignation was accepted, 17th February
1846, and he landed in Australia in the beginning of next year, where he
became minister of Collins Street Church, Melbourne. On Voluntary
grounds Mr Ramsay did not acquiesce in the Union there of 1859, but joined
with two other ministers in forming a Presbytery by themselves, though they
afterwards acceded to the United Church. He died on the last day of 1869,
in the sixty-first year of his age and thirty-seventh of his ministry.
Fifth Alinistcr.—h.^D'SLEVf J. GUNION, from Glasgow (Calton). Or-
dained, 9th December 1846. The stipend was now ^105 in all, and the call
was signed by 150 members, which confirms what Mr Ramsay indicated,
that the ground gained during the early years of his ministry was afterwards
lost. Mr Gunion was called to Dalkeith (King's Park) in 1850, but he
agreed to remain in Hawick. On 13th January 1857 he accepted a call to
Strathaven (West), but he is believed to have been more in his element
among the hterary and political activities of Hawick than he ever was else-
where, and that the ten years he spent there were the happiest of his minis-
terial life. In 1853 Mr Gunion published a lecture on "The Culture of the
Imagination," which evinces his strong literary bent and richly-embellished
graces of composition.
Sixth Minister. — Thomas Russell, son of the Rev. John Russell,
Buchlyvie. Ordained, 13th October 1857. Under Mr Gunion the congre-
gation had made headway, and the stipend was now ^140, with manse and
garden, and the signatures at the call were 178. On 3rd February 1863 Mr
Russell accepted a call to Albion Chapel, London, and went south, to head
a sinking cause in the great metropolis. After struggling on there for five
years he sought and found an opening for himself at Sydenham, and on 8th
November 1869 his demission of Albion was accepted that he might engage
in stated labour in a more promising locality. On 31st October 1870 he was
inducted over the congregation he had gathered round him at Forrest Hill,
Sydenham. On 2nd January 1872 the connection was dissolved, and on 5th
August thereafter he ceased to be recognised as a minister of the United
Presbyterian Church. He died, 15th April 1880, in the fiftieth year of
his age.
Seventh Minister.— KoiARKV MuiR, M.A., translated from Holm of
Balfron after a ministry of four years. Inducted to Allars Church, 13th
July 1864, a position in which his acquirements had much fuller scope, and
brought their reward. The call was signed by 295 members out of 317,
and the stipend was to be ^150, with manse and travelling expenses. In
1 87 1 the debt of over ^500 which had burdened the congregation so long
was extinguished, with the aid of ^^125 from the Liquidation Fund, and in
462
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
1881 the present manse was built at a cost of ^^624, exclusive of the sum
received for the old manse, ^200 coming from the Board. After a long
period of broken health Mr Muir died, 21st December 1882, in the fiftieth
year of his age and twenty-third of his ministry.
Eighth Minister. — GEORGE DAVIDSON, M.A., from Dundee (Wishart
Church). Was carried over the Rev. William Tees of Kettle by 91 votes to
71. Ordained, 6th November 1883. The stipend was ^250, with the manse.
On 5th October 1897 Mr Davidson intimated his intention to resign, having
received an invitation to Flinders Street Church, Adelaide. There he was
to take the place of the Rev. James Lyall, a native of Leslie and a licentiate
of the U.P. Church, who had occupied that important post for forty years,
and was to retire as soon as a successor was appointed. The salary pro-
mised was ^600 a year. The selection had been left very much with Dr
Smith of Broughton Place, Edinburgh, who, after hearing Mr Davidson, was
satisfied, and placed the call in his hands. With the sorrowful acquiescence
of the commissioners from AUars congregation the resignation was accepted,
7th December 1897.
Ninth Minister.— ]auy-S Wotherspoon, B.D., from Dunbeth, Coat-
bridge. Ordained, i8th May 1898. The membership at the close of the
following year was 2i77', and the stipend ^225, with the manse.
HAWICK, WILTON (United Presbyterian)
The parish of Wilton comes close up to Hawick, and the town ranks as one
of its suburbs. From 1772 to 1825 the parish pulpit was occupied by Dr
Samuel Charters, who seems in his preaching to have concerned himself
largely with religion in common life. Thus one of his published sermons
is on Alms, another on the Duty of making a Testament, and a third gives
Instruction regarding Oaths. It tempted Dr Young of Hawick to char-
acterise his discourses, without naming the author, as having " no more
relation to the gospel of Christ than the discourses of a heathen philosopher."
Dr James Hamilton of London described Dr Charters as "a minister re-
markable for this, that he did not preach anything that he did not fully
understand. He did not fully understand the gospel, and he did not fully
preach it, but those moral truths and personal duties which he did compre-
hend he enforced with a downrightness, a simplicity, and minuteness which
cannot be sufficiently admired." The wish for more of the evangelical might
account for so many of Wilton parishioners getting in to attend the Secession
and Relief churches in Hawick, their number, young and old, amounting in
1836 to 630. Still, it was not for over fifty years that a congregation was
formed in Wilton itself.
In the early part of 1888 the Presbytery of Melrose took steps to have a
new preaching station opened in Hawick. The population of the town had
doubled itself during the preceding forty years, and this was enough to
prompt a movement in the direction of Church Extension. After a time
Wilton, on the other side of the Teviot, was fixed on as the seat of the new
congregation, and on the first Sabbath of January 1889 services were com-
menced by Dr William Boyd, formerly of Milnathort and London (Forrest
Hill), in an iron church, with 90 sittings already let. Here also the popula-
tion had largely increased, though scarcely keeping pace with Hawick, and
it was befitting that they should have the preference when Church Extension
was going on. In the following May Mr William G. Macfee, who was about
to get licence, began regular work at Wilton, and on 17th June a congrega-
tion was formed with a membership of 59, which was increased to 90 before
the end of the year. From the signatures at the petition given in to
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 463
the Presbytery it appears that of the 59 applicants 21 were from Orrock
Place, Hawick, 17 from East Bank, and 13 from Allars. The remainder
were from the Established church or from other U.P. churches, and one
from the English Presbyterian church. On 4th August a session of six
members was constituted — three who had come from Orrock Place, two from
East Bank, and one from Allars— of whom five had been in office before.
After four months' service Mr Macfee resigned, though the people were desir-
ous to call him for their minister. He was soon after ordained over Pendleton
E.P. Church, Manchester, to re-appear afterwards in Partick (East).
First Mimster.--M\hC01.u Smith, B.D., from Gillespie Church,
Glasgow. Ordained, 4th February 1890. The membership was now 196.
Mr Smith met his death on 21st August 1891. He was spending his
holidays at Spittal, opposite Berwick-on-Tweed, and when bathing he was
borne downwards to the sea. Though a good swimmer the strength of the
current overcame him, and after the struggle was over his lifeless body was
washed ashore. Some time after his death a little volume, with specimens
of his discourses and a Memoir, was given to the public.
Second Mmisicr.—]AUE.s W. Shannon, M.A., translated from South
Street, Elgin, where he had been two and a half years, and inducted to
Wilton, 2nd February 1892. Next year the iron church, bought from Craig-
more, Rothesay, at ^320, when the station began, had to be abandoned as
inadequate, and for fifteen months the congregation worshipped in the
Temperance Hall. On ist November 1894 the new church, with sittings
for 670, was opened by Dr Smith of Broughton Place, Edinburgh, when the
collection amounted to ^190. The cost, inclusive of site, was .^4163. By
the exertions of the people, along with a grant of ^^500 from the Church
Extension Fund, and the assistance of friends, the debt at the Union in 1900
had been reduced to ^1950, and at that time a Bazaar was about to be held,
with the prospect of having it brought down at least to manageable compass.
The membership at this time was close on 350, and the stipend ^205, but
with no manse as yet.
NEWTOWN (Burgher)
The first distinct trace of this congregation's origin is met with in the
Minutes of Selkirk session, 9th February 1773, when some members of that
congregation residing in the parishes of Bowden and Melrose petitioned for
a disjunction. They explained that they wished away simply because they
found the distance to be a very serious disadvantage, and they stated that
sermon had now been kept up for two years at Newtown, a place nearer to
them by several miles than Selkirk was, and there a house had also been
built for public worship. The paper was signed by 13 men, and the
severance was at last agreed to. Thus a Burgher congregation was com-
menced at Newtown, a small village three miles south of Melrose, on the
boundary of St Boswells parish. In other two years a moderation was
applied for, with the promise of ;^45, and a dwelling-house. The call came
out for Mr John Young, afterwards of Kincardine ; but it was poorly signed,
though, after 19 additional names were added, it was sustained. On i6th
July 1776 the Presbytery met at Newtown for Mr Young's ordination, but
before proceeding they received hints that there was coldness on the part of
many in the congregation towards the settlement. Elders and others having
owned that it was so, the Presbytery resolved to proceed no further, believing
that the weakness of the congregation made the utmost heartiness indis-
pensable. The people being met, public worship went on, but the minister
464 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
V
who preached was to intimate that they would proceed no further. In 1777
Mr John Primrose was called, with an advance of ^5 on the former engage-
ment, but after his trials were delivered a call from East Calder came in,
and was preferred by the Presbytery. Disappointed at the eleventh hour
Newtown people carried their case to the Synod, where it was dismissed.
They were but a little company as yet, and scarcely in circumstances to sup-
port a minister, the call being signed by only 24 members and 25 adherents.
First Minister. — Alexander Waugh, M.A., from Stitchel. Before
being called Mr Waugh had been sent to supply the pulpit of Wells Street,
London, a;nd may have had expectations from that c|uarter. At least he
held back from being settled at Newtown, and when the Presbytery were
about to fix the ordination day he gave in a remonstrance, in which he
desired them to accept the resignation of his licence. Then the London call
came out for another, and, his scruples being overcome, he was ordained,
30th August 1780. It was in this connection that his Professor, the Rev.
John Brown, wrote him that, though he might feel mortified at the thought
of being set over a very small congregation, he would think it large enough
when he came to give in his account. But, independently of the humble
sphere, there was the inconvenience of having to reside with a brother some
eight miles distant. However, before he had been four months ordained he
was called to Wells Street. When the cause came before the Synod in
May 1 78 1 he pleaded to be continued at Newtown, that the congregation
might have time to become consolidated, and the Synod decided accordingly.
Then another moderation was applied for in August, and the petition was
granted by Edinburgh Presbytery on peculiar terms. It was impossible,
they said, to get a minister sent up at that time to preside, but as elders
have power to perform acts of government they appointed one or both of
the members of session to moderate. Under their auspices a call signed
by 194 members was brought out for Mr Waugh, but it also proved un-
successful, though he indicated to the Synod his willingness to go. A
third call followed, and on 9th May 1782 the translation carried. On the
30th of that month his induction took place at Dalkeith, and not in the great
metropolis. At the last hour a barrier was interposed from Bristo Church,
Edinburgh, to which he had been called when it was too late. Certain
parties insisted on being heard in opposition to the proceedings going on,
but they could produce no commission from the congregation, and the
Presbytery on this plea refused even to read their papers, and the induction
went on.
Of Mr Waugh, who received the degree of D.D. from Marischal College,
Aberdeen, in 181 5, it is well known that in London he made for himself a
remembrance and a name. He got hold of the Scottish element in the great
modern Babylon to a remarkable degree, and built up a large and prosperous
congregation. But full particulars of his life and work have been given in
the joint Memoir, which was published in 1830, by his nephew, the Rev. Dr
Hay of Kinross, and the Rev. Dr Belfrage of Falkirk. Dr Waugh, died 14th
December 1827, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and forty-eighth of his
ministry.
Second Minister. — WILLIAM Elder, from Bathgate (Livery Street).
Ordained, i6th January 1783, on a call signed by 141 members. On the
first Sabbath of March 1802 disaster was threatened to the congregation,
as was related in the Scots Magazine at the time as follows : — " Last Sunday,
the Lord's Supper having been dispensed, the church was more than usually
crowded, and in the middle of the service one of the galleries gave way.
Providentially, no lives were lost ; but many were considerably hurt, and one
woman so severely that little hopes are entertained of her recovery. Matters
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 465
were, however, adjusted at last, and the service proceeded, though the
minister, Mr Elder, was so much agitated as to be unable to finish his
discourse." Among the outlying districts of the congregation in those days
were Bowden, Gattonside, and Earlston, the last of these including the
Burgher families in the place, four miles off. On Sabbath, 28th November
1819, Mr Elder assisted at Lauder communion, and on Thursday of that
week he preached in his own church at a meeting of the Bible Society, and
on Saturday morning, the 4th of December, he suddenly expired when at
breakfast. He was in the sixty-second year of his age and thirty-seventh of
his ministry. Of his family, one daughter became the wife of his successor,
and another was married to the Rev. William Willins of Pitcairn.
Third Minister. — William Rutherford, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars).
Called unanimously to Stranraer (West), but though Newtown congregation
was much divided their call, which was signed by 168 members and 27
hearers, was preferred by the Synod. Ordained, 22nd August 1821. The
stipend in 1836 was ^100, with manse and garden, and an additional ^8 for
sacramental expenses. Here, as in many other congregations, the weak
point in the finances was the church-door collections, which were under ^20
a year. The debt on the property was ^240, most of which had been con-
tracted in improving and enlarging the church, which now contained 452
sittings. There were 370 communicants, of whom less than one-third be-
longed to the parish of Melrose. The others were drawn from other parishes,
in the following order : — Mertoun, St Boswells, Bowden, Maxton, Ancrum,
and Earlston. The minister stated that he devoted a hundred days each
year to pastoral visitation and public examination in the different districts.
Mr Rutherford died, 20th July 1843, in the forty-eighth year of his age and
twenty-second of his ministry. Much interest was felt in his family at this
time, and a sum of at least £450 was speedily raised for their benefit. So
far as we know, the only specimen that remains of Mr Rutherford's pulpit
gifts is a sermon of much merit on the grace of assurance, which appeared
in the United Secession Magazine two years before his death.
Fourth Minister. — David Lumgair, from Arbroath (now Princes Street).
The family held an important place in that church, and his mother was a
granddaughter of the Rev. Andrew Arrot, minister and proprietor of
Dumbarrow. Mr Lumgair, who had declined Cambuslang a little before,
was ordained, 28th February 1844. The call was signed by 163 members,
and the stipend was much as before. A new church in a better position
was opened by Dr Cairns on Wednesday, 17th June 1868. It is seated for
400, and the cost was about ^iioo, which was speedily cleared away with-
out any aid from outside funds, except £^0 from the Ferguson Bequest.
After a ministry of thirty years Mr Lumgair died suddenly, 31st March
1874, in the fifty-eighth year of his age. A heart ailment had been at work
for years, and that afternoon, on reaching home from a day's angling on
the Tweed, it seized him, and within twenty minutes the pains and the dying
strife were over.
Fifth Minister.— G-EOKOK Jame.s Young, a native of Yetholm, but
entered the Hall from Nicolson Street, Edinburgh. Ordained, 19th January
1875. The stipend was ^170, with manse and garden, and the membership
was 220. In little more than three years Mr Young had to demit his charge
owing to ill-health, and on 15th May 1878 he was loosed from Newtown, the
congregation presenting him with 100 guineas as a parting gift, and the
Presbytery recording their belief "that in his case literary and scientific
attainments of a high order have been employed in preaching the truth as
it is in Jesus." He then proceeded to Australia, the land of his boyhood,
which he reached with his health re-established. Next year he returned to
II. 2 0
466 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Edinburgh, where he passed through a full course of medical study, and
took his diploma. He afterwards settled down in practice at Horsham, a
town about 250 miles from Melbourne, but interested himself in Bible class
work and the like. His health having again given way he was seeking
back to Scotland, but died at sea, 20th February 1898, in the forty-ninth
year of his age
Sixth Minister. — Robert Ingles, M.A., from Paisley (Canal Street).
Ordained, 7th January 1879. In 1881 a new manse was built at an expense
of ^1000, of which ;^25o was received from the Manse Fund. The
membership at the close of 1899 was over 240, and the stipend ^^200, with
the manse.
GALASHIELS, EAST (Burgher)
On 2nd October 1804 a number of people in Galashiels and its neighbour-
hood petitioned the Burgher Presbytery of Selkirk for some days' sermon
by members of Court, but nothing was done at that time. On i6th
November two petitions to the same effect were brought forward, one in
name of members belonging to Selkirk congregation, and the other from
160 persons not in communion with the denomination. The commissioners
stated their case, and the elder from Stow was heard, no doubt in antagonism,
but it was agreed to grant occasional supply. In June 1805 a petition from
39 of their members in and about Galashiels for disjunction was referred by
Selkirk session to the Presbytery, and on the application being granted Mr
Kidston of Stow protested, and appealed to the Synod. His own congrega-
tion was sure to suffer if Galashiels became the seat of a congregation, and,
indeed, 50 of his own people were about to ask a severance, that they might
co-operate with their brethren from Selkirk. The Synod found that the
Presbytery ought not to have granted sermon at Galashiels till they gave
notice to Stow session ; but, the deed having been done, it would be inex-
pedient to alter it ; and as for the 50 petitioners from that congregation, since
the change was to be for their convenience it was right that it should be
agreed to. The building of a church was now proceeded with, and then
steps were taken to obtain a minister. On the second and third Sabbaths
of March 1806 Mr George Lawson, who had newly got licence, and was only in
his twenty-first year, preached at Galashiels, and steps were forthwith taken
to present him with a call. But before advancing further let us go back to
Galashiels in the early days of the Secession.
The minister of that parish at the time of the Marrow Controversy was
the Rev. Henry Davidson, one of the twelve Marrowmen. Thomas Boston
has described him as possessing a gift of heavenly eloquence such as he
had never heard equalled. But after the Erskines and their coadjutors
seceded Mr Davidson, like Mr Gabriel Wilson of Maxton, veered away
into Independency, though both of them retained their charges and their
livings. The form their Independency took is given in the Caledonian
Mercury of 30th April 1739 as follows: — "A new church of saints has
sprung up in the parish of Maxton. They have frequent meetings for
prayer and conversation. At their last meeting it was debated whether in
the sacrament there ought to be distinct blessings at the bread and the
wine, and if it is agreeable to Scripture to celebrate that ordinance once
every week. Men and women are allowed to give their opinions." It was
with this select company only that Messrs Wilson and Davidson participated
in the communion ordinance. But some people about Galashiels preferred
to adopt another course, and on 17th July 1739, three months after the
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 467
above newspaper notice, they gave in a paper to the Associate Presbytery
signifying that they were in correspondence with the Dissenting Societies
in Stow. Mr Davidson died in 1756, and after a successor had come
and gone the Rev. Robert Douglas (afterwards D.D.) was promoted to the
benefice, which he held for fifty years, a clergyman of literary acquire-
ments, who did much for the prosperity of the place, and though he belonged
to the school of Moderatism it seems to have been rather in Church
politics than in his preaching. It was after he was aging that Galashiels
became the seat of a Secession congregation. In 1791 the village contained
only 581 inhabitants, but its growth was rapid and extensive.
First Mints teK—GKOKOK Lawson, son of Dr Lawson of Selkirk. Or-
dained, 4th November 1806. The call was signed by no members and 60
adherents, and the stipend was to be .^100, with £\o for a house. Invited
two years afterwards to Stow in circumstances which have been given under
that heading. Called in July 1809 to the newly-formed congregation of
Dumfries (Buccleuch Street), and at next meeting another call to Mr Lawson
from Bolton, in Lancashire, was laid on the Presbytery's table. The Synod
first decided for translation, and then gave Bolton the preference by a large
majority. Thus on 27th September 1809 the pastoral relation of Mr Lawson
to the first of his four charges came to an end.*
Second Minister.— ] auks Henderson, from Stirling (now Erskine
Church). Ordained, 29th August 18 10. The call was signed by 163 mem-
bers, but the stipend was not to be more than was paid to the former
minister. At that figure it seems to have continued till 1833, but it came up
at last to ^150, besides the manse. Dr Henderson had the degree of D.D.
conferred upon him by St Andrews University in 1844, and that same year
the present church was built, at a cost of ^900, with sittings for 700. In
1854 steps were taken, with Dr Henderson's entire concurrence, to secure a
colleague, the senior minister to retain his full stipend of ^(^150, with the
manse, and the junior minister to have ^120, with ^20 for house rent, and
^150, with manse and garden, should he become sole pastor.
Th'rd Minis/er.— Alexander Oliver, B.A., from Morebattle. Or-
dained, 1 8th October 1854. Mr Oliver in his student days had proved him-
self a vigorous reasoner and a skilful debater by some memorable encounters
* Sermon was commenced at Bolton in November 1802 by the Burgher Presby-
tery of Edinburgh in response to a petition for supply. On nth July 1805 James
Smith, M.A., from Aberdeen (St Nicholas'), was ordained over them, but he died of
pulmonary consumption on 14th June 1806, in the twenty-seventh year of his age.
He was described as "a man of exalted piety and amiable manners, and possessed of
highly popular pulpit talents." Now the Synod sent them one of their best men,
and Mr Lawson was inducted, i8th October 1809. The stipend promised was ;[f 150,
and though the call was signed by only 36 members it was hoped that they would
speedily attain to strength and prosperity. But the beautiful and commodious chapel,
built in 1804, involved them in heavy liabilities, and the pressure became greater as
years passed. In 1813 they petitioned the Synod for pecuniary relief in their embar-
rassed circumstances, and an arrangement was made to procure collections for them.
In 1818 it came to be known that .Mr Lawson could not remain much longer in
Bolton, and three vacant congregations in Scotland competed to secure his services.
It ended by the Synod in September 1818 appointing him to Kilmarnock (now
Portland Road). A letter from Bolton testified to the people's warm attachment to
Mr Lawson, but confessed that "their circumstances incapacitated them for
insisting on his being continued as their minister." The building was bought
soon after for Unitarian worship, and the congregation quietly broke up. It
is a comment on the struggle it has cost I'resbyterianism to make headway in
England, even with high-class pulpit gifts in its favour, and a large population
besides.
468 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
with Holyoake, who was on a propagandist mission in Edinljurgh at the
time. This also turned his attention to the subject of Popular Infidelity, on
which he wrote several comprehensive articles in the U.P. Magazine for
1853. Dr Henderson, who had been in failing health for some time, was
found dead in bed on the morning of 5th November 1858. He was in the
seventy-second year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. He left behind
him a volume of sermons which had been published in 1843, ^"d another
appeared the year after his death, with a Memoir by Dr Cairns of Berwick,
which is far from endorsing the editor's estimate of himself when he spoke
of his " unbiographical turn." The best specimen of Dr Henderson's dis-
tinctive excellence as a preacher is to be found in a sermon which appeared
in the United Secession Magazine for 1843, and was republished among his
posthumous discourses, the text being : " I am the root and the offspring of
David, the bright and morning star." It is marked throughout by mild,
full-orbed beauty rather than by brilliant sparkle. Dr Henderson also wrote
the well-executed Memoir prefixed to Dr Balmer's Academical Lectures
and Pulpit Discourses. Mr Oliver continued in Galashiels after Dr Hender-
son's death six years, but on 6th December 1864 he accepted a call to Regent
Place, Glasgow. The stipend had been advanced to ^200 in 1861.
Fourth Minister. — John Barr Pollock, from Edinburgh (Newington).
At the moderation there was division, Mr Pollock being carried over Mr
James Jeffrey, now of Pollokshields, by 146 votes to 114, but the call itself
was "cordial and harmonious," and the stipend was now to be ^250, with
the manse. The ordination took place, 12th September 1865. In 1868 the
church was enlarged and improved at a cost of ^1500, and it has now 1000
sittings. In 1877 ^ new manse was built at a cost of not less than ;^26oo,
and in December 1899 there was a membership of 543, and a stipend of
^400.
GALASHIELS, WEST (Relief)
On 28th June 1836 the Relief Presbytery of Kelso commissioned Mr Durie
of Earlston to make inquiry respecting Galashiels as a fit place for Church
Extension, and on 20th September he reported that he had preached there
last Sabbath evening to an audience of 300 or 400. The ser\'ice was kept
up by members of Presbytery, and after a trial of five weeks the schoolroom
in which they met was said to be crowded. In May 1837 it was reported
to the Synod that a station had been opened at Galashiels with every
promise of soon becoming a flourishing church, and that subscriptions were
on foot for the erecting of a place of worship. On 3rd November two of
the Presbytery met with the parties, and organised them into a congrega-
tion with a membership of 56. They were meeting now in a hall which they
had fitted up with accommodation for 380, and although not always free
from money embarrassments their course was steadily progressive. The
first mishap occurred in the beginning of March 1838, when, on proceeding
to choose a minister, 38 voted for Mr James R. Kerr, afterwards of Pitten-
weem, and 36 for Mr William Wyper, a name which comes up prominently
under Annan (Relief). The understanding at the time was that all the
minority except 9 had concurred in the choice of the majority, but after the
call was sustained complaints of undue influence came in, and of attempts
to injure the defeated candidate. The Presbytery found the charge estab-
lished, and the conduct of one individual in particular they declared
worthy of severe censure. The right thing they felt was to let the call drop,
and advise the two parties to unite on another candidate.
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 469
First Minister. — ROBERT Blair, originally from Buchlyvie. At the
first meeting of Presbytery after the former call was laid aside a moderation
was applied for with the view of renewing the contest, but the petition was
refused on the ground that unanimity had not been restored. Two months
afterwards the way was open for going forward, the two parties having
come to terms. Mr Blair became their choice, and he was ordained, 17th
October 1838, the call being signed by loi members and 57 adherents.
The stipend was to be ^80 in all, a sum hard to make up by reason of
other burdens. An appeal had been made to the Presbytery some time
before, as they were ^6o behind " owing to the seating of the church."
This was not surprising, and all parties were satisfied that success would
be attained in the end. But the debt on the building was oppressive,
though it was lightened in 1846 by a grant of ^150 from the Liquidating
Fund of the Relief Synod. In 1849 the case became more urgent, and £^o
was needed from the Mission Board to raise the stipend to ^100. Still
there was the resolute holding on in the prospect of better times. In i860
there was a large inroad made on the debt, ^300 being cleared off with the
aid of ^70 from the Board. Five years later a manse was built at a cost of
^688, of which ^488 was raised by the people, and ^200 came from the
Board. Towards the close of Mr Blair's ministry the stipend from the
people was ^200, besides the manse, and the membership was about 450.
In 1874 Mr Blair received the degree of D.D. from Philadelphia, United
States. He died on Sabbath, 13th June 1880, in the seventy-fourth year of
his age or thereby and forty-second of his ministry. On the following
Thursday, his funeral day, the new church was opened by the Rev. Dr Jeffrey
of London Road, Glasgow. It is built on the old site, with over 600 sittings,
the cost being ^2139. The congregation now called, but without success,
the Rev. William Duncan of Mid-Calder.
Second Minister. — William Mowat, M.A., from Edinburgh (North
Richmond Street). Carried by an absolute majority over three others, and
ordained, 21st June 1881. In 1891 Mr Mowat was invited to remove to
Leith that he might undertake the building up of what is now Ebenezer
Church, but the claims of his present congregation, as he intimated, decided
him to decline. The membership at the close of 1899 was 507, and the
stipend was ^300, with the manse.
GALASHIELS, SOUTH (United Presbyterian)
The Presbytery of Melrose had the subject of Church Extension before
them in the end of 1876, and it was thought that Galashiels was the best
place to begin with, as there was room for a third congregation there. In
February next they expressed gratification that the two sessions whose
interests were involved approved of the proposal in a general way, and they
appointed a committee to take such action in the matter as they might
consider best. Accordingly, it was reported at a meeting on 3rd April that
the station was opened on the last Sabbath of February by Mr Robson of
Lauder in the town hall, and that services had been continued since by
other members of Presbytery. The old Free Church had now been secured
as the place of meeting, and Mr Walter Brown, a student on the point of
receiving licence, had accepted a location for May and June. .Self-support
from the first was also to be aimed at, and with that view nearly ^120 had
been guaranteed for three years by some liberal friends in the town, and
there were also to be collections made by the congregations within the
bounds in furtherance of the same object. On Monday, nth June, 55
470 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
members in full communion with the United Presbyterian Church were
formed into what was to be known as the South congregation, and three
elders were forthwith to be elected.
First Minister. — Walter Brown, M.A., from Lilliesleaf. The whole
number on the communion roll at this time was jj., and the stipend was to
be ^250. Mr Brown was ordained, 15th November 1877, and in two years
the membership amounted to 319. On Thursday, 19th August 1880, the
new church was opened by Professor Johnston, with sittings for 750, and
built at a cost of ^ 5000 in all. In March 1882 Mr Brown was called to
Greyfriars, Glasgow, and in March 1884 to London Road, Edinburgh, but
he decided on both occasions to remain in Galashiels. On 2nd February
1886 he accepted a call to the recently-formed congregation of Braid,
Edinburgh. At the close of the preceding year there were fully 500 names
on the communion roll.
Second Minister. — William Burnet Thomson, B.D., from Greenock
(Union Street), grandson of the Rev. William Burnet, Boston Church, Cupar.
Ordained, 14th July 1886. The stipend was ^250, as at first, and the debt was
^1580, which was reduced in ten years to ^650. The manse, which proved
unsuitable, and for which the minister paid a rent, was disposed of in
1893 for ^7oo» with the intention of building another. In 1897 the debt
was cleared off by a bazaar which yielded ^900, and the manse fund was
raised above that sum. A commodious house was then purchased, costing,
with repairs, about ^1200, the Board allowing ^140. But trade had for
years been unpropitious, and at the close of 1899 the stipend was j^2oo, with
the manse, and the membership 305.
LILLIESLEAF (Relief and Burgher)
This parish fell vacant on the death of the Rev. William Campbell, 28th
September 1804. The parishioners petitioned the patron in favour of their
late minister's son, but the presentation was given to the Rev. James
Stalker, chaplain to the Royal Forces at Fort George, who had laid the
patron, the Duke of Roxburgh, under obligation, and now came forward to
urge his claims. His induction followed, 8th May 1805, without resistance
before the Church Courts. Having taken time to test their new minister's
gifts some 70 heads of families applied for sermon to the Relief Presbytery
of Edinburgh on 6th May 1806, and built a church for themselves in 1809,
with sittings for 400.
First Minister. — James Colquhoun, who had been minister of the
Relief Church, Campsie, where he came to grief, and was placed under
suspension. He then gave in his declinature, and was declared no longer
in connection with the Relief body. He now disappears from our notice
till October 1801, when it was announced in the Caledonian Mercury that
" the Rev. James Colquhoun, who has been five years minister of a Congrega-
tional church in Perth, publicly announced his acceptance of a unanimous
call from the new Presbyterian Dissenting congregation of North Shields."
All we know further is that he remained there for seven years. Next we
have him preaching as a candidate at Lilliesleaf, and then, in view of receiv-
ing a call, he petitioned the Presbytery of Edinburgh to be readmitted to
the Relief. They wrote Glasgow Presbytery asking that the sentence of
suspension passed against Mr Colquhoun thirteen years before be rescinded,
but this was refused. The people of Lilliesleaf now took the matter into
their own hands, and Mr Colquhoun settled down as their minister by
mutual agreement. In this state matters continued till 18 14, and then we
PRESBYTERY OF MELROSE 471
are among fresh developments owing to Mr Colquhoun having seen fit to
return to England. On 2nd August 18 14 a deputation from Lilliesleaf
appeared before Dr Lawson's session at Selkirk stating that their minister
had left them, and that they were desirous to join the Burgher Secession.
They wished Dr Lawson to preach in their meeting-house on Sabbath first,
but, health not permitting, he agreed to ask Mr Elder of Newtown to do
duty for him "in that part of his congregation on that day." On ist
September the Presbytery granted supply to Lilliesleaf, and on 20th March
181 5 the people were congregated anew, all the neighbouring sessions being
favourable except Newtown, which was likely to suffer more than any other
by their reception. In August of that year they called Mr Andrew Scott,
who was appointed by the Synod to Cambusnethan. The signatures
numbered 246, of whom 195 were in full communion. They promised a
stipend of ^120, with free house, and "^5 each sacrament." They next
called Mr James M'Farlane, a preacher from Glasgow (now Greyfriars),
but there was a shortcoming in the names, and for special reasons the call
was afterwards withdrawn. He was ultimately suspended for intemperance.
Second Minister. — Patrick Bradley, a native of Ireland, where he
was brought up a Roman Catholic. Ordained, 9th April 1817, Lilliesleaf
being preferred to Yetholm by the Synod. Mr Bradley is said to have
carried the warm, impulsive temperament with him all through, both in the
pulpit and in the Presbytery. He died, 26th December 1841, in the fifty-
eighth year of his age and twenty-fifth of his ministry. It was the com-
munion Sabbath, and, having been indisposed for a few days, he was unable
to be present. " Just as the text was about to be announced for the conclud-
ing sermon a message was brought to the officiating minister that he was
dead."
The congregation now called Mr Alexander Stewart, a licentiate of
Selkirk Presbytery, but he had only a slight majority over Mr Andrew
M'Farlane, afterwards of Bathgate, and complaints were made that some had
signed who were not members. It was well that Mr Stewart had the means
of accepting a unanimous call to Kennoway.
Third Minister. — William Kiddy, from Coldstream (West). Ordained,
1st November 1843. Mr Kiddy's ministry was brief, and the end sudden and
solemnising. He preached on the preceding Sabbath as usual, and on
Monday, 22nd October 1849, visited a case of cholera, the first in the village.
He died early next morning, and was buried before night. He was in the
thirty-first year of his age and sixth of his ministry. Deep interest was felt
in his widow, a daughter of the Rev. Robert Cranston, Morebattle, and in
her young family, and sympathy found expression in a sum of ^530 raised
on their behoof, mostly from within the bounds of Selkirk Presbytery.
The congregation now called Mr John Lawson, but the call from his
native congregation in Selkirk followed, and was preferred. They then
called Mr John Stevenson, but he declined, and accepted Haddington (West)
some time afterwards.
Fourth Minister.— ]OWti Ballantyne, from Galashiels (East), but he
did not, like his brother James, become a student in the Relief Hall. After
declining Coupar- Angus (Relief) he was called to Lilliesleaf, and ordained
there, 6th May 185 1. Some unpleasantness having arisen in the church in
connection with the introduction of the hymn-book Mr Ballantyne resigned,
and though 133 members petitioned for his continuance he kept to his
purpose, and the resignation was accepted, 25th April 1854. After being a
short time on the probationer list he removed, along with his brother, to
Australia, and became minister at Emerald Hill, a suburb of Melbourne.
His health having given way he returned to this country in i860, and died
472 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
at Edinburgh, 4th October of that year, aged forty. A tombstone in the
Dean Cemetery marks where he is buried.
Three unsuccessful calls were issued from Lilliesleaf during this vacancy :
the first to the Rev. J. S. Cowper, an ordained probationer who came from
the Associate Reformed Church of America, and was admitted at the Synod
in 1855 ; the second to the Rev. Alexander Henderson, late of Hexham,
who was under call to Earlston (East) at the same time, and preferred to go
there ; the third to Mr William Scott, who accepted Balerno.
Fifth Mmisier.—V^\-Lh\AU YoUNG, M.A., from Kirriemuir (West). Or-
dained, 13th January 1857. On 2nd June 1874 Mr Young accepted a call
to the newly-formed congregation of Parkhead, Glasgow.
Sixth Minister. — Alexander Paterson, M.A., from Montrose Street,
Glasgow, a nephew of the Rev. Dr Paterson, Kirkwall. Ordained, 27th
April 1875. O" Friday, 12th June 1891, a new church was opened free of
debt, with sittings for 200, and, with the help of free cartage and the
utilising of old material, the outlay was kept at the modest figure of £720.
Mr Paterson having resolved to remove from Lilliesleaf to Edinburgh owing
to family considerations, he was loosed from his charge, 2nd June 1896. He
now resides at Portobello, and is available for pulpit supply.
Seventh Minister. — GEORGE MiNTO, from Greenock (Union Street).
Ordained, 2nd February 1897. The membership at the close of 1899 was
141, and the stipend from the people ^135, with a manse.
MELROSE (United Secession)
On 1st October 1822 some people in Melrose and its neighbourhood
petitioned the Secession Presbytery of Melrose to be formed into a con-
gregation, and a committee of three ministers was appointed to meet in
that place to receive disjunction certificates and examine applicants for
admission to communion. At next meeting, on 26th November, they
reported that the work was done, and a church formed at Melrose with 66
communicants, of whom 45 had been received from sister congregations.
This was the outcome of a petition which had been presented to the Presby-
tery on 24th April 1821 from parties not in connection -with the Secession,
that some of their number should preach there, and prepare the way for
granting regular supply of sermon. On 15th May this was followed by a
petition with 103 names to the same effect, and Mr Hay of Stow was
appointed to open the station on the following Sabbath. Thus a beginning
was made, and the congregating followed, as given above. The nearest
churches were : Newtown, three miles to the south ; Galashiels, four miles
to the north-west ; and Earlston, four and a half miles to the north — each of
which, it may be assumed, had to give up a number of families to constitute or
strengthen the new cause. Newtown, which was least able to stand reduction,
seems specially to have resisted the encroachment, for it was brought under
the notice of the Presbytery that a number of persons belonging to that con-
gregation had been refused testimonials on the ground of not having applied
for them in person, and an order from the Presbytery was needed to put this
matter to rights. In 1823 a church was built, with sittings for 450, at a cost
of slightly under ^500, including some subsequent improvements.
First Minister. — Thomas Williamson, from Stirling (Erskine Church).
The call was signed by 117 members, and the stipend promised was ^90,
which included everything. Mr Williamson was ordained, 30th March
1825. In 1836 the communicants were given at 240, and this is considered
to have been about the average number during Mr Williamson's ministry,
^^■at least after the first few years. Except a few families all resided
^^g within the bounds of the parish. The stipend was now ^95, and it was
gradually raised to ^120. A manse was also added in 1840. At the date
specified above there was a debt on the property of ^200, which was gradu-
ally cleared away. Mr Williamson died, 3rd Octolaer 1855, in the sixtieth
year of his age and thirty-first of his ministry. Besides some contributions
to periodicals he wrote a Memoir of the Rev. William Lovvrie of Lauder,
which has been characterised as "a faithful and graphic delineation of a
lovely character." A brief sketch of his own life by the Rev. Alexander
Lowrie, East Calder, was prefixed to a little volume of "Memorials"
published in 1856, including several of his discourses and the sermon
preached by Dr Henderson of Galashiels on the occasion of his death.
Second Minister. — James Y. Gibson, from Rose Street, Edinburgh.
Previously called to Dunning. Ordained at Melrose, 30th July 1856. The
call was signed by 137 members, and the stipend was .a^i2o, besides manse
and garden. There was also about £,"] to be paid annually as part of a life
assurance, an arrangement which had been adopted in Mr Williamson's
time, and of which his sister got the benefit after his death. Mr Gibson
resigned his charge on 15th June 1859 owing to failing health, which had
unfitted him for some time for the discharge of his regular ministerial work.
The congregation were sorry that he^was obliged to take this step, but, in
the circumstances, they had to acquiesce, and the demission was accepted
on the 28th of that month. Mr Gibson, whose tastes were scholarly and
refined, died at Ramsgate, 2nd October 1886, aged sixty, and was buried in
Dean Cemetery, Edinburgh, where a tombstone marks the place.
Third Minister. — HUGH Stevenson, from Kilmarnock (Princes Street),
a younger brother of the Rev. Thomas Stevenson, then of Owen Sound,
Canada, and of the Rev. James Stevenson, Dennyloanhead. Ordained, 9th
October i860. In October 1867 the present church, built at a cost of ^2000,
was opened by Professor Eadie, and in little more than two years it was
announced that the debt was entirely cleared off. The stipend, which had
been ^120, with a manse, at Mr Stevenson's ordination, was now ^200,
besides the manse, taxes paid, and sacramental expenses. On 13th October
1872 the church, improved and enlarged to hold 500, the cost being ^1200,
was opened anew by Dr Knox of Glasgow. The collections on this occasion
amounted to ^274, leaving only a trifle of debt. Mr Stevenson was invited
to Pollokshields in 1881, but he preferred to remain a fixture in Melrose.
The stipend was raised to .^250 in 1875, and to ^300 in 1878, with the
manse. At the close of 1899 the membership approached 350, and the
stipend was as before.
INNERLEITHEN (United Secession)
This town lies six miles south-east of Peebles, and, according to the testi-
mony bf the parish minister in 1797 there were few dissenters in the parish —
" fewer, perhaps, than in any other parish of the same size in this part of the
country." They were numerous enough, however, and zealous enough to
form the nucleus of what was to be a vigorous United Presbyterian con-
gregation. On 7th September 1847 sixty persons residing at or near
Innerleithen joined in getting up a petition to have a preaching station
formed in the place. This movement may be looked on as suggested by
the recent Union between the Secession and Relief, each of which had
a congregation in Peebles, with adherents from about Innerleithen, and, as
these congregations belonged to Edinburgh Presbytery, that was the Court
474 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to which the appHcation was addressed. Edinburgh Presbytery welcomed
the proposal, but as a matter of convenience the petitioners, at their own
request, were transferred to the sister Presbytery of Selkirk, by whose
appointment Dr Henderson of Galashiels opened the station on Sabbath,
2nd April 1848. Much interest was shown in the infant cause, and one after
another the members of Presbytery supplied there for eight successive
Sabbaths. On 7th November 48 members of the United Presbyterian
Church and 'j'] adherents petitioned to be formed into a congregation, and
as it was believed no opposition would come from Peebles or any other
quarter this was agreed to. It was accordingly reported on 9th January 1849
that the congregating had been gone through, and that there was a member-
ship of 53, received by certificate or after examination. Already there had
been an election of elders, of whom three were to be ordained forthwith.
First Miftister. — John Law, translated from Dunfermline (St Margaret's),
where he had ministered for twenty-two years, after having been in New-
castleton sixteen years. It was fortunate for the young congregation of
Innerleithen that they obtained a man of Mr Law's gifts and experience
to begin with. Some untoward occurrences in Dunfermline when a col-
league was being arranged for had made him decide on removing to an
easier field of labour. He was inducted to his third charge on i8th Decem-
ber 1850, and though now over threescore he had still at least fifteen years
of active service before him. The stipend when he began was only ;^8o,
with sacramental expenses, and a dwelling-house, and no assistance was to
be asked from the Mission Board beyond the sum granted for the current
year. A church had also been built, and a considerable amount of debt
contracted, but by the aid of the Liquidating Board he saw this removed.
Then in 1866, the foundations of the new congregation being firmly laid, and
his own strength weakened by the way, Mr Law was prepared to hear the
evening summons and give place to a younger man. The first whom the
people called was Mr D. M. Connor, who preferred Biggar (South). At
this transition time a house was secured for a manse, and afterwards
enlarged, the entire cost being ^808, of which ^^528 was raised by the
people, and ^280 came from the Manse Board.
Seco7id Mitiister. — William L. A. Nivp:n, son of the Rev. James Niven,
Missionary at Friendship, Jamaica. Ordained, i6th April 1867. The money
arrangements were that Mr Law was to receive ^30 a year, and the junior
minister ^95, with ^15 for house rent, the Board to give ^25 in addition.
The membership at this time was 234. Mr Law, in view of the ordination,
wrote the Presbytery as follows : — "The ends of edification to my people, and
the comfort and usefulness of my colleague and successor, will be best pro-
moted by my giving up to him the entire charge of the congregation, and
abstaining from all ministerial work, public and private, except when he
asks my assistance, and I shall find myself in circumstances to give it." It
was the emeritus position pure and simple, but the Presbytery declined
to express approval of the principle involved. Mr Law soon afterwards
removed to Eskbank, Dalkeith, where he spent the evening of his days.
His voice was heard in the Synod for the last time in May 1871, when he
spoke with much fervour and animation on the case which came up from
Dalkeith. He died, 29th November 1875, in the eighty-fifth year of his age
and sixty-fourth of his ministry. He was buried in the Abbey Churchyard,
Dunfermline, where he had long before taken possession of a burying-place.
Among the productions of his pen we recall a masterly pamphlet on Infant
Baptism, published in 1840. He also wrote a Memoir of the Rev. Andrew
EUiot of Ford, which appeared first in the U.P. Magazine for 1856, and
was afterwards prefixed to a volume of Mr Elliot's sermons.
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 475
The settlement of Mr Niven had an unfortunate ending, and his ministry
was brief. Having appealed against a sentence of Melrose Presbytery, find-
ing him guilty of serious misconduct, he was loosed from his charge by the
Synod on i6th May 1872. The appeal was so far sustained that a verdict of
Not Proven was brought in, but owing to the state of feeling in the con-
gregation it was impossible to have him retained in Innerleithen. He
finally emigrated to Jamaica, the island of his birth, but though he took
ministers' pulpits at first he has long ceased to be available for work of
that kind.
Third Minister.— A.^n-R^.w MORTON, son of the Rev. Dr Morton, St
James' Place, Edinburgh. Ordained, 17th December 1872, as Mr Law's
second colleague, but in reality sole pastor. Within a year it was announced
to the Presbytery that Innerleithen had become self-supporting. In 1876
the stipend was raised other ^25, making it ^182, los. A new church, with
550 sittings, and built at a cost of ^2500, was opened in April 1878. The
sale of the old building brought .^300, and ^100 was obtained from the
Ferguson Bequest. The membership at the close of 1899 was 265, and
the stipend ^200, with the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY
WICK (Antiburgher)
It is attested that the congregations of Wick and Thurso began simul-
taneously about 1767, if they were not originally one, though separated by a
distance of twenty-one miles. The first church was built at Newton, about
a mile and a half out from the town, and hence the name of Newton-Wick is
that which generally appears in the old Presbytery and Synod records. The
history of this congregation affords an example of a struggle with over-
mastering difficulties for a period of forty years, and yet the bruised reed
was not broken, and the smoking flax was not quenched.
First Minister. — Thomas Uarg, of whose antecedents very little can
be learned. We know he had the Gaelic language, but it is stated in Dr
M'Kelvie's Annals that he acquired this while acting as tutor to a gentleman's
family in Caithness. Having been licensed by the Antiburgher Presbytery
of Glasgow in February 1770 he was called soon after to Ayr, but another
call having intervened from Wick Mr Darg's possession of the Gaelic
tongue almost necessitated a decision in their favour. The ordination
followed on 17th September 1771. In a meagre Journal kept by John
Birrell, Kinnesswood, the writer records having crossed from Kinghorn to
Edinburgh in April of that year with Mr Thomas Darg on his way to
Caithness, which implies previous acquaintance, but how acquired we can
scarcely conjecture. In April 1772 the Presbytery of Elgin laid before the
Synod the necessitous circumstances of Wick congregation through being
engaged in building a meeting-house, and other congregations were re-
commended to make collections for them. A year later Mr Darg was granted
a donation of ^10, to be applied to the same purpose. But when only a few-
years had passed, their young minister became subject to mental depression,
owing partly, perhaps, to his lonely situation, and in the beginning of 1779
the congregation applied to the Presbytery for supply of sermon, and either
to be declared a vacancy or to have their case referred to the Synod. The
decision of Synod at their meeting in April runs thus : " Considering that
.i
476 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Mr Thomas Darg is in the meantime deprived of the exercise of reason,
without any appearance of the return thereof, they declare the relation
between him and Wick congregation dissolved, recommending the Presby-
tery to deal with the congregation to engage to contribute yearly accordmg
to their ability for his support." He now passes from our view, but in a
biographical notice of Mr James Bryce, afterwards of Wick, it is stated that
Mr Darg was still living at the time of his ordination in 1795.
Second Minister.— A.ti-D-R¥.^ Arrot, grandson of the Rev. Andrew
Arrot, Dunnichen ; but his father, instead of being the Rev. David Arrot of
Markethill, Ireland, was Mr William Arrot, who succeeded to the proprietor-
ship of Dumbarrow estate — who had also two sons-in-law Antiburgher
ministers, Messrs James Miller, Arbroath, and James Browning, Auchter-
muchty. Mr Andrew Arrot's call to Wick was opposed by several of the
leading members of the church, and this introduced bad feeling at the
very first. The Presbytery blamed Mr Arrot for declaring he would not
accept unless he were to be out of connection with those parties who were
opposing his settlement. This they considered as only fitted to make
reconciliation impossible. He acknowledged rashness, accepted the call,
was ordained, 14th December 1780, and differences were got over for the
time. But within four years Mr Arrot gave his people serious cause for com-
plaint. In January 1785 the Presbytery were informed that he had left his
congregation for thirteen or fourteen weeks, during which they had only had
supply one Sabbath. When summoned to answer for himself he pleaded
that owing to the state of his wife's health he took her to Ireland, when
they were south at the Synod, and that to his great concern he was detained
in Edinburgh five or six weeks because he could not get north. The
Presbytery sustained the excuse, but the wound refused to close ; and still
papers of complaint came up, specially from certain of the elders, about Mr
Arrot having stayed so long away, and having used indecent language
towards them for remaining dissatisfied notwithstanding his explanation.
P'or years irritation wrought on, till it was found that by far the larger
part of the congregation had withdrawn from Mr Arrot's ministry. Meanwhile
he had set about making himself master of the situation by bargaining with
the tenant of the ground on which it stood for possession of the church.
The Synod put down this attempt, and, to end the matter, loosed Mr Arrot
from his charge at their meeting iii May 1788. After this he seems
to have supplied as a preacher sometimes in Scotland and sometimes in
Ireland, and in 1793 he was called to Canone, near Donegal. His name
ultimately appears in connection with the Constitutional Presbytery. It is
understood that he finally settled down in Ireland about the year 1814.
The family property at Dumbarrow had now passed into other hands,
and all inquiry as to the time or place of Mr Arrot's death has been
baffled. ' , • ,
Third Minister.— ] xuiES Bryce, from Hamilton ( Blackswell). Ordained,
2nd September 1795, which imphes a prior vacancy of seven years. In a
short time fresh troubles arose. Mr Bryce held strong views on the question
of Church and State, and he satisfied himself that ministers ought not
to celebrate marriages, that being a civil not a sacred function, and on
that principle he acted as far as practicable in his own case. His bride was
a Miss Annan residing in Auchtermuchty, who had been a pupil of his
when he was teaching there some years before. Arriving at the town he
applied to several magistrates one after another to marry them, but they
refused. Since better could not be, when the company met, Mr M'Bean of
Inverness Ijegan with prayer. Then bridegroom and bride took each
other for husband and wife, and the service was closed by an Antiburgher
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 477
preacher who belonged to the district and had joined the Burghers. Notice
of this irregularity was sent to the Synod when it met in May 1796, and
Kirkcaldy Presbytery was ordered to meet at Auchtermuchty, where it was
believed Mr Bryce was still to be found, and "deal with him as to his con-
duct," but all they had to report at the autumn meeting was that he declined
their authority. Members, however, had since conversed with him, and
found him prepared to acknowledge that he had acted irregularly, and that
his objections to ministers celebrating marriages were partly removed.
Engaging to conform to established custom and guard against divisive
courses, he was thereupon rebuked and restored. But collision on other
points followed, and in May 1799 the Presbytery of Elgin complained to the
Synod that Mr Bryce had affirmed Presbyterian government to be a
despotism, and the superiority of one Church Court over another to be
lordship over God's heritage. Again suspension was invoked, but in Sep-
tember he voluntarily appeared, and withdrew these offensive statements,
though he avowed in their place the lawfulness of holding communion with
Christians of other denominations, a doctrine which met with little tolerance
in the Antiburgher Synod. The suspension was therefore continued, the
Presbytery to give the congregation all the relief in their power. The
expediency of loosing Mr Bryce from his charge began now to be considered,
and in April 1800 opposing petitions came up to the Presbytery, the one for
the dissolving of the pastoral tie signed by 25 (male) members, and the
other for its continuance signed by 24. The Presbytery referred the case
to the Synod, with a note appended that, though the parties were nearly
equal in numbers, those in opposition bore the greatest weight in steadfast-
ness to their principles, and the commissioners on that side had declared
their determination not to submit to the ministry of Mr Bryce. The con-
clusion come to was that to continue the pastoral bond would not be for
edification, and in April 1800 it was dissolved without a contradictory voice.
For other two years Mr Bryce remained under suspension, but at the
Synod in May 1802 the votes for Restore and Not Restore were ecjual, and
no decision was come to, as the Moderator refused to give his castmg-vote.
In September Mr Bryce came forward, and signified regrets for the past,
whereupon it carried to relax the sentence, though there is no mention of
appointments to vacancies. For some years at this time he was engaged in
teaching, a profession in which he excelled, but having been invited to supply
in Ireland he accepted a call to Killaig, where he was inducted, i6th
August 1805.
In the earlier years of Mr Bryce's ministry at Killaig friction between
him and the Courts of the Church was not wanting, but it was in 1809 that
he came prominently into notice. That year it was arranged that the Regium
Donum, which the Antiburgher Synod in Ireland had received in a slump
sum for distribution among the ministers, was to be paid directly to each
of them by the Government, on their taking the Oath of Allegiance,
in sums of ^^70, ^50, and ;^40, the larger stipends to bring the larger
supplements. But the most offensive condition was that each applicant
should be approved of by the Lord Lieutenant before he could receive the
gift. At first Mr Bryce's clerical brethren seemed unanimous against sub-
mitting to these terms, and the more forward among them expressed them-
selves on the subject in no measured terms, but in the end he was left in a
minority of one. Complaints were brought up against him to the General
Synod in April 181 1. It was alleged that he had stirred up strife in other
congregations by preaching hither and thither, and denouncing his brethren
as sacrificing the interests of the gospel for paltry gain. Refusing to ac-
knowledge a fault or consent to make the accepting or rejecting of the
478 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Regium Donum an open question, he was once more placed under suspen-
sion. From this time he was recognised as the standard-bearer of thorough-
going Voluntaryism in Ireland, with six or seven congregations under his
pastoral care. Being for five years the only minister they had, the Presbytery
he formed consisted of the entire eldership, having in this respect the
characteristics of a large session. But in course of time preachers trained
and licensed by himself came to his aid, including his son, the Rev. R. J.
Bryce, afterwards LL.D., minister of Belfast, and the Rev. James Fitzpatrick,
who was ordained over Boveedy and Knockloughrim. This Presbytery,
consisting of eight congregations, was united with the U.P. Synod in 1858,
though not without having barriers to surmount. Mr Bryce, though liberal-
minded, kept rigidly by the Antiburgher system of excluding from the
praises of the sanctuary hymns and paraphrases, but this point had to be
surrendered. He and his brethren, however, were left free to uphold their
old testimony against the Regium Donum as an encroachment on the
spirituality of Christ's kingdom. Mr Bryce died, 24th April 1857, and though
in the ninetieth year of his age and sixty-second of his ministry he preached
on the previous Sabbath. His family inherited their father's gifts, and made
for themselves an honoured name, which has come down to his children's
children. But it is more than time to return from this digression to Wick
congregation.
Before the ordination of Mr Bryce the Old Statistical History entered
that they were much on the decline, and still later the Haldanes' Journal
bears witness that the congregation had for some time been in a distracted
state by the removal of ministers, which had probably retarded the progress
of the gospel. One of the fathers of the Secession Church in Wick was
Thomas Andrews, a man described as most attentive to family duties, and
one who lived habitually in the fear of God. One who had been in his
service said he saw true greatness there without the least approach to out-
ward show. Thus the Secession cause survived in Wick. " The holy seed
shall be the substance thereof" But after Mr Bryce was loosed from his
charge the congregation had to pass through a vacancy of eight years.
During this period they called the Rev. John Kirk, formerly of Balbeggie,
but he refused to settle down there, and then Mr Andrew Kerr,* but this
also came to nothing.
Fourth Minister. — William Stewart, from Ayr (now Original Seces-
sion). Ordained, i8th October 1808. The stipend was to be ^roo, with a
manse. The congregation now got in among smooth waters — at least their
affairs did not come up to trouble Presbytery or Synod. In 181 5 they
abandoned Newton, and built a new church, with 658 sittings, at Pulteneytown,
which is connected with Wick proper by a bridge. In 1826 the minister had
a house built for him close beside the new place of worship. Of Mr Stewart's
ministry it is hard to glean anything definite, but we know that in 1844 he
had to be provided with a colleague. The old minister was to have ^80 a
year, with the manse, and the young minister ^90, with ^^lo additional if he
married, which he never did.
Fifth Minister. — Andrew Key, M.A., from Letham, Forfarshire. Or-
dained, 19th June 1844, the ordination sermon being preached by the Rev.
John Bisset of Nairn, who had been his close friend in student days. Mr
Stewart died, loth December 1847, in the seventy-eighth year of his age and
* Mr Kerr was from Dennyloanhead. Having entered the Antiburgher Hall in
1792 he attended four sessions, and was licensed in 1798. Next year he was missioned
to America, but refused to go. He at last went to Nova Scotia, and was ordained
minister at Economy. We only know further that he was alive about the year 1846,
and had the Rev. James Watson, formerly of Waterbeck, for his colleague.
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 479
fortieth of his ministry. Mr Key, as even those who had but slight inter-
course with him can attest, was a man of high-toned Christian character, a
faithful, earnest preacher of the gospel, and unwearied in the discharge of
his pastoral duties. In i860 the writer found the plain building in which the
people assembled quite filled, the evangelistic spirit abounding, and though
there were said to be two parties in the church, to outward semblance all
was harmony. The occupant of the pulpit to a certainty was a man with
peace in his heart and the law of kindness on his lips. Mr Key died, 23rd
August 1873, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and thirtieth of his ministry.
After more than a year's vacancy the congregation called Mr J. G. Crawford,
but he declined, and obtained Limekilns soon after.
Sixth Minister. — John Munro Mackenzie, from Nigg. Ordained,
19th July 1876. The membership three years after this was 235, and the
stipend ^200, with the manse. A new church was opened on Sabbath, 3rd
August 1879, by Professor Cairns, with sittings for 700. It was a costly
undertaking, the money absorbed amounting to nearly ^5000, and, what was
worse, the acoustics did not minister either to comfort or edification. On
20th July 1 88 1 the pulpit fell vacant through Mr Mackenzie accepting a call
to Mount Pleasant, Liverpool. That once powerful congregation was now
bound to decline through the dowering away of so many suburban daughters.
In 1890 the statistics showed that, though the income kept well up, the
membership was reduced to 321, and next year Mr Mackenzie was loosed
from his charge. After living for some years in London he went abroad, but
returned, and now resides in London.
Wick church had now straitened experiences to pass through. In March
1882 they represented to the Presbytery that, after contributing upwards of
;^388o among themselves (with the assistance of friends, the proceeds of a
bazaar, and a grant of ^280 from the Board), they were still burdened
with a debt of ^1050, and as they had always been self-supporting they were
most anxious to have the debt cleared off before proceeding towards a
settlement. Aid was given, and three unsuccessful calls foUowed^ — the first
in October 1882 to Mr Joseph Rorke ;* and after more than a year one to Mr
James Frame, who accepted Millport ; and another to Mr A. Miller Mar-
shall, who accepted Newarthill. There was now a long pause, during which
the requirements from Wick exhausted the probationer list, and, when in-
formed that they would have to select candidates from among the preachers
they had had, the reply they gave was that they had been favoured with a
number of excellent young men, but the defect was they could not hear them.
At this very time a new licentiate got Wick for his first vacancy, and his
voice was such that the drawback was overcome, and a settlement accom-
phshed.
Seventh Minister. — JAMES Steedman, B.D., from Bank Street, Brechin.
Ordained, 4th February 1885. The stipend from the people was to be ^200,
with the manse, though there was still a debt of ^{^975. Mr Steedman's
resignation of his charge was accepted, 22nd April 1889. Having returned
to the preachers' list he officiated as loctitn tenens for a lengthened period
at Pittenweem, and was inducted to Redcar, Yorkshire, on 4th April 1893,
where he still labours. The debt on Wick property, which stood at ^1400
in 1 88 1, had now been reduced to less than ^500, with the aid of ^280 from
the Liquidation Board.
i Eighth Minister.— KOYi¥.YCT AULD, M.A., from Kilwinning. Ordained,
* Joseph Rorke, from Wellington Street, Glasgow. Ordained at Church Street,
Berwick, 2ist June 1883, and translated in 1890 to Heaton, Newcastle, a congrega-
tion which improved greatly under his ministry'.
■K
48o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
26th March 1890. The membership was about 200, and the stipend ^200,
with the manse. On 29th November 1893 Mr Auld accepted a call to
Eglinton Street, Glasgow. The stipend had meanwhile required to be
reduced to ^140.
Ninth Minister. — David Shearer, M.A., translated from Shapinshay
after a ministry of five years, and inducted to Wick, 19th July 1894. At the
close of 1899 the membership was 166, and the stipend remained at ^^140,
with the manse.
THURSO (Antiburgher)
The date of this congregation's origin cannot be stated with exactness.
Sir George Sinclair in his evidence before the Patronage Commission put it
about 1767. He also stated that "at a previous period two of the parish
ministers in succession were understood to have preached Arminian doctrine,
in consequence of which a secession had taken place, the necessity of which
the inhabitants much regretted." The law papers in the well-known Thurso
Case give 1766 as the year. When Elgin Presbytery was formed four years
after this Thurso, in conjunction with Wick, was placed as a vacancy under
their inspection, and in September of that year a call from Thurso signed
by 19 male members and adhered to by other 10 in favour of Mr Alexander
Howison was set aside by the Synod. The people had previously petitioned
the Presbytery to procure them a hearing of one or more probationers, and
in particular two who were learning the Gaelic language, a description
which applied to Mr Howison, who was in course of time ordained at
Howford.
First Minister. — ROBERT DowiE, from Abernethy. Ordained, nth
September 1777. Their first church, with sittings for nearly 600, is under-
stood to have been built that year. At the ordination there were only two
ministers present — Mr Buchanan of Nigg, and Mr Clark of Moyness, with
the elder from Wick. Mr Dowie died, nth June 1797, in the fiftieth year
of his age and twentieth of his ministry. He had been long in a declining
state of health, but he preached on the previous Sabbath. Having gone
to the country during the week he returned on Saturday evening, intending
to occupy the pulpit on the following day, but he died next morning about
ten o'clock. The Haldanes, who visited Thurso a few months afterwards,
bore honourable testimony to his labours. They also stated in their Journal
that, besides the members of his own congregation, some God-fearing people
waited on his ministry, though adhering to the communion of the Established
Church. The state of religion in Thurso they represented as very low, and
they were informed that the town, with its 2000 inhabitants, had not been
catechised these forty years. Mr Dowie's widow, after surviving her husband
nearly forty-eight years, died, 8th March 1845, aged ninety-seven.
Second Minister. — James Simpson, from St Andrew's Place, Leith.
Ordained, 22nd April 1801. In the time of this vacancy the Old Statistical
History reported the membership to be on the decline, and gave their
numbers in the town and parish as not more than 70. A new church was
erected about the beginning of Mr Simpson's ministry, as appears from the
session of the North Church, Perth, having granted a donation to Thurso in
1803 to assist them in rebuilding their place of worship, and this was followed
by a further sum of ^20 in 1805. In the minutes of Kirkwall session for
1 2th August 1802 there is also reference to a petition from Thurso for
assistance by collections or otherwise. It represents the repairing and
enlargement of their meeting-house as a matter of necessity, and adds that
I
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 481
the materials of the old building turned out to be of less value than was
estimated. This indicates the date of the second church, which, along with
the manse, became the subject of litigation two generations afterwards. Mr
Simpson resigned in the early part of 1807, and the case was referred to the
Synod, the congregation having petitioned for his continuance among them.
The Synod, however, agreed on 4th May to loose him from his charge, and
next year he was inducted to Potterrow, Edinburgh. He may have found
himself m a discouraging situation at Thurso. Sir George Sinclair, in his
evidence referred to above, stated that in 1804 a minister was ordained
over that parish whom the magistrates and the principal inhabitants had
petitioned for, and that he officiated there for upwards of twenty years with
the greatest acceptance. In 1808 a party in the Antiburgher church
obtained sermon from the Constitutional or Old Light Presbytery. Dr
Scott in his Annals understood that the whole congregation separated from
the New Light Synod ; but this seems to be a mistake, as Thurso all the
while retained its place on the list of Elgin Presbytery.
Third Minister.— ]ow^ M'Donald, who had been loosed from Dubbie-
side some time before, and was now in the twenty-eighth year of his
ministry. Inducted, 9th September 1817. Mr M'Donald and his people
kept aloof from the Union in September 1820, and in April 1822 Elgin
Presbytery reported to the Synod that they had dropped his name from
their roll. Distance did not permit him to mingle in the adverse movement,
but he acceded to the Protestors. In 1827 .Mr M'Donald came under
bodily distress, and he died, 29th July 1828, in the sixty-seventh year of his
age and fortieth of his ministry. His successor was Mr David Burn, who
belonged originally to Potterrow Church, Edinburgh (now Hope Park), a
congregation with which the family name had a long and honourable con-
nection. Mr Burn attended the United Secession Hall in 1826, and then
passed over to the Original Secession. He was ordained at Thurso on 21st
July 1831, the stipend promised being only ^^70. In 1852, when the
Original Secession Synod, of which he was Moderator, decided, by 32 votes
to 31, to unite with the Free Church, Thurso congregation at a regular
meeting agreed by a majority of one to do the same. The question of legal
rights now passed into the Court of Session, and hence arose the famous
Thurso Case, in which it was declared that the property belonged, according
to the title-deeds, to the minority, who stood by the binding obligation of the
Covenants. Mr Burn and his adherents now vacated the old building, and
formed the West Free Church, Thurso. The party who kept by the Original
Secession Synod had inevitably to face decline, and in 1884 their member-
ship was down to 50, and the stipend, though liberal for their numbers, was
only ^94i with a manse. Mr Burn died, 29th April 1882, in the seventy-
eighth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry.
KIRKWALL (Antiburgher)
From the Journal of the Haldanes' visit to Orkney in 1798 we have a vivid
picture of Church life in these islands at the time the Secession cause was
rising to importance in Kirkwall. Except in one or two instances, accord-
ing to the " Itinerant Missionaries," the gospel of salvation by the Cross of
Christ was not preached, and, indeed, preaching was but slimly attended to.
They state that ministers had often two parishes, which they were to supply
on alternate Sabbaths ; that it was not uncommon for one of the churches to
get dilapidated ; and hence every second Sabbath the minister lay aside, and
thus far " leaves both his parishes totally destitute of gospel ordinances."
An Orcadian, writing a year earlier in the Christian Magazine., gave a
II. 2 H
482 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
similar account, and islands are spoken of in which the communion had not
been dispensed above once or twice for half-a-century. These isolated
regions had also seen the workings of Patronage and other Establishment
abuses in their most aggravated forms. In Orphir, a parish bordering with
Kirkwall, a minister was ordained in May 1746. The intrusion was to have
been nine months before, but the people resisted and had the church shut
up, so that nothing was done, and, that the Presbytery might not be
thwarted a second time, a troop of soldiers was brought over from Caithness
to clear the way, with the result that one woman was killed and several
persons were wounded. Twenty years later a flagrant case of scandal
occurred, when a parish minister lived in open concubinage with another
man's wife, both before and after his marriage. The Synod contented them-
selves with enjoining him to put his paramour away within four months ;
but while his brethren were dallying with the demerits the Court of
Justiciary took hold of the culprit, found him guilty, and banished him to
the Plantations for life.
The introduction of the Secession into Kirkwall we have the means of
tracing from original documents or from testimony gathered up at the time
and on the ground. The foremost name in this connection is that of John
Rusland or Russell, " who had been apprenticed to a pious tradesman in
Kirkwall, and went to Newcastle, where he attended the ministry of Mr
Graham, the Antiburgher." On returning to his old centre with new light
and altered views he drew a few like-minded associates into a weekly
meeting for prayer and religious fellowship. Dissatisfied with the lack of
evangelical preaching in their own parish church, of which one of the
ministers was specially obnoxious, they joined together in the resolve to
have a place of worship built, in which they might have " gospel ordinances
dispensed in their purity and simplicity according to Christ's appointment."
Thus the building went on, twenty bills of ^5 each being made out as
security for the cost. On 25th August 1795, •'^"d while the work was in
progress, a petition was drawn up for the Antiburgher Synod "praying
them to send over an ordained minister to preach the gospel of Christ unto
them." The petition did not get forward in time, but in May 1796 two
members of Edinburgh Presbytery, Messrs Chalmers of Haddington and
Culbertson of Leith, were commissioned to supply at Kirkwall, the one
in June and July of that summer and the other in August and September.
But certain faded letters in manuscript let us know how the work was
going on prior to this.
First, a letter of 6th January 1796 informed Mr Culbertson of Leith that
the house was covered in ; that it had a very genteel appearance ; and that
they were erecting a pulpit as fast as possible. The writer was not the Rev.
William Graham of Newcastle, as has been supposed, but a Kirkwall man
of the same name, with whose interference the others were dissatisfied, and
he is no more heard of On ist March it is intimated that the pulpit is
finished, and the interior of the church is in course of being fitted up with
800 sittings. The people, moreover, have subscribed so liberally that the
guarantee bills are not required. The place of worship was opened on ist
July by Mr Chalmers of Haddington. A session had now to be arranged
for, and with this view 15 of the original petitioners met under the presidency
of Mr Chalmers, when 6 of their number were nominated to office, and after
being unanimously elected by the congregation they were ordained on
14th August. The first communion was dispensed in the open air on i6th
July 1797, Mr Stuart from Falkirk presiding. There was a membership of
196, with whom the Rev. John Bunyan, afterwards of Whitehill, had con-
versed, and whose names he had reported to the session for approval.
I
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 483
First Minister. — William Broadfoot, from Whithorn. The petition
for a moderation had been drawn up in February 1798, and Mr MacEvven
of Howgate was sent by Edinburgh Presbytery to preside. The call, which
came out unanimously for Mr Broadfoot, was signed by 44 male members,
but the adherents, under which name female members were included,
numbered 287. Mr Broadfoot had another call from Bo'ness, but the Synod
treated this as of no account compared with Kirkwall. The ordination took
place in the open air on 3rd August. The meeting-house, which would have
borne no proportion to the vastness of the audience, had been already taken
down for needed enlargement. There were four ministers present, but only
the Moderator, Mr M'Crie of Edinburgh, was a member of Edinburgh
Presbytery. The others were Messrs Colville of Lauder, Gray of Brechin,
and M'Ewan of Dundee. During this visit applicants for admission to
Church fellowship to the number 0^256 were examined by Mr M'Ewan, and
were to be admitted if the session had nothing against them. At the com-
munion on Sabbath week after the ordination 300 took part in the observ-
ance. At next communion in the following May 202 were admitted after
examination, and the extent to which the Secession had taken hold of the
Orkney Islands is indicated by the fact that on these two occasions 105 from
Holm parish took part, 10 from Stromness, 27 from Shapinshay, 15 from
Orphir, 8 from Stronsay, 19 from St Andrews, and a few from Evie, Birsay,
and Firth.
In their choice of a minister Kirkwall people were pre-eminently for-
tunate. Before supply reached them at all one of their members wrote
Mr Culbertson that some would be best pleased with a great orator, but
an orthodox preacher was what he wished, though he knew it was best when
the two came together. In Mr Broadfoot they had gifts and graces in happy
combination. Year after year there was the gathering in and the building
up, till early in 1814 he estimated his regular Sabbath attendance at 1250, of
whom fully three-fourths were members. The stipend at this time was ^150,
with sundry allowances, besides house and garden, and a manse for which
they had been gathering up for years was to be entered at Whitsunday.
But a month after this Mr Broadfoot informed his session that, at the urgent
request of Dr Jerment, he was about to leave for London to supply Oxendon
pulpit for a time. His stay there seems to have been lengthened out till
November, and it had weighty consequences. On 24th April 181 7 Mr
Broadfoot moderated in Kirkwall session for the last time. The next meet-
ing, on II th June, was constituted by the Rev. James Pringle of Newcastle,
Moderator of Synod, who had been sent north to intimate that their worthy
and respected pastor had been removed from them by a decision of Synod,
and translated to London. Owing to distances and the exigencies of the case
forms had been dispensed with, and the matter summarily disposed of.
Under Mr Broadfoot's ministrj^ the congregation had grown all on, and the
summer before he left the stairs were removed to the outside to allow an
additional number to hear the gospel.
After Mr Broadfoot was gone one of his leading men testified that in
civil society as well as in the pulpit his commanding abilities appeared to
advantage ; that in all schemes of benevolence he generally took the lead ;
that his conspicuous talents and moral worth secured respect even from the
avowed enemies of the Secession in Orkney ; and that, while firm as a rock
where truth and duty were concerned, he was liberal and catholic on matters
of minor moment. The session, however, kept very much on Antiburgher
lines. At one of their first meetings the Mason Oath, which had travelled
as far north as Kirkwall, caused them trouble ; and in 1805 one of their
members was sharply dealt with for leading people into a scheme for build-
484 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ing an Independent meeting-house, when he insolently declared himself no
longer in their communion. Having afterwards maintained that in baptism
ministers ought not to take parents under obligation to discharge parental
duty he was thrown out of membership. It was then that the Congrega-
tional Church of Kirkwall had its origin. In 1808 the session, under advice
from Edinburgh Presbytery, refused to tolerate the occasional attendance of
members upon public ordinances in any church against which testimony
was borne in the public deeds of the Secession.
For thirteen years Mr Broadfoot laboured in Oxendon Chapel, preaching
three times every Sabbath. His voice having failed, he had to be relieved
of his charge in October 1830, but he was able some time after to enter
on the duties of theological tutor at Cheshunt College in Lady Huntingdon's
connection. This did not break the tie between him and the Secession
Church, and he even continued to act as the Clerk of London Presbytery.
He died, 6th June 1837, in the sixty-second year of his age and thirty-ninth
of his ministerial life. He was buried in Bunhill Cemetery, where Kirkwall
congregation a generation afterwards erected a handsome granite obelisk
over his grave. Mr Broadfoot had three sons — British officers — two of whom
fell on the battlefields of India, and one of them, Major George Broadfoot,
is the subject of a stately volume, bearing on his military career.
In the early part of the vacancy at Kirkwall the people called Mr Pringle
of Newcastle, to compensate themselves as far as possible for the loss he had
come north to announce. There was not, indeed, perfect unanimity among
them, some members from the country alleging that Mr Pringle was not dis-
tinctly heard, while 3 or 4 were not clear about calling an ordained minister,
but all of them declared they would throw no obstacles in the way. The call
came before the Synod in May 181 8, but after hearing Mr Pringle they
continued him in Newcastle. The Rev. Thomas Stark of Forres was then
fixed on by the congregation, and appointed to Kirkwall by the Synod, but
as he was not present it was left in his own hands whether to obtemper the
decision or not. In November 1819 a letter came north from Mr Stark
declining the call, and the resolution was now formed to fall back on a
probationer. With this view their long-tried friend, Mr Culbertson of Leith,
was appealed to, and he, as Presbytery Clerk, sent them Messrs James
Whyte and Robert Paterson, informing them that there were none better.
The former of the two surpassed all his contemporaries in popularity ; but
he was under obligation to go to America, and when the moderation day
came, though he had a party in his favour, he was not even proposed.
Second Minister. — Robert Paterson, from Hamilton (now Safifron-
hall). The call was signed by 202 male members, and the stipend was to
be ^200, exclusive of manse, garden, and the payment of taxes. Mr
Paterson, after being appointed to Orkney, intimated to Edinburgh Pres-
bytery that it was doubtful whether, owing to the state of his health, he
would be able to go ; but the threatened barrier was surmounted, and it
had far-reaching issues. A prior call came out from Muirton, but the
people were counselled by their Presbytery to withdraw it, as successful
competition with Kirkwall was hopeless. The ordination took place, 24th
October 1820, and that day the large blank which Mr Broadfoot's trans-
ference to London had made was worthily filled up. At this time the
pressure for accommodation in the large meeting-house was great, and
in 1822 there was a proposal to build a second place of worship, which
would have involved a coUeagueship, but the session after inquiry satisfied
the petitioners that the matter ought not to be pressed. Next year the 1
demand for seats could not be met, but relief came in a regrettable way !
by-and-by. In 1824 a party withdrew and got sermon from the Protestors, ^
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 485
which led to the formation of another church in Kirkwall. The petition was
signed by 11 members and 53 adherents, and this was followed by a de-
clinature with 17 names being handed in to their own session, and enforced
by "calumnious statements." The new cause never came to much, though
their first minister, the Rev. Ebenezer Ritchie, was a man of high character
and superior talent. The congregation struggled on through money diffi-
culties under three brief pastorates till 1852, when it united with the Free
Church, and soon after was dissolved.
The extent to which Kirkwall Church under Mr Paterson's ministry
proved a nursing mother to the young and feeble congregations in Orkney
will be indirectly brought out as we pass over their several histories. Its
liberality did extensive service in days when Augmentation Schemes were
unknown. But in 1849 there were heavy demands to be met at home by
the building of a new church, with 1400 sittings, which was opened on 20th
September. In 1855 Mr Paterson received the degree of D.D. from Sf
.A-ndrews University, and on Wednesday, 24th October i860, the completion
of his forty years' ministry was celebrated with much interest. His work
duringr that period had left its impress not only on his own congregation
but throughout Orkney. In four years the monitions of failing strength
were such that both minister and congregation felt that it was time to have
the long and heavy burden lightened by the appointment of a colleague.
Third Minister. — David Webster, from Letham. Having removed to
Ireland he became connected with the Irish Presbyterian Church. Admitted
to the U.P. Hall from Trinity College, Dublin, as a second-year student
by the Synod in i860. Called to Stromness, but Kirkwall intervened, and
was accepted. Ordained, loth January 1865, the money arrangements
being that the senior minister's stipend should remain as before — ^250,
with the manse — and the junior should have ^200, with ^20 for a house.
Preparations were being made for celebrating Dr Paterson's jubilee, when
it was intimated from the pulpit on Sabbath, 20th February 1870, that
he had died that morning. He was in the seventy-fifth year of his age.
His Life, by his brother, the Rev. John Paterson, formerly of Rattray, was
published in 1874. ^^r Paterson was too busy with the duties of his charge
to have much time to make demands upon the press, but in 1835 he
published a discourse, entitled "The Divinely Appointed Method of Sup-
porting the Christian Ministry," which brought him into slight collision
with his neighbour, the Rev. Ebenezer Ritchie. After going on single-
handed for six years Mr Webster was called to Stratford, where the work
would have been greatly lighter, but he decided to keep by his important
post in Kirkwall. Since then the membership of the congregation has been
chiefly conditioned, on the one hand by the influx of people from the islands
into Kirkwall, and on the other by the efflux from Kirkwall to the south.
At the close of 1899 there were over 950 names on the communion roll ; the
stipend was ^366, with the manse ; and the Sabbath school had an attend-
ance of nearly 400 and a staff of teachers numbering 46.
STRONSAY (Antiburgher)
The first notice we have of this congregation is in the Missionary Magazine
for September 1799, where it is stated that there was a meeting-house in
course of erection in the island of Stronsay. In the Minutes of Synod that
same month it is entered that the people there had procured a piece of
ground for a place of worship, and the work was begun, but money was so
scarce as to render them unable to defray the necessary expenses. It was
486 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
accordingly agreed to have a statement of the case drawn up, and an appeal
made for collections on their behalf. There is no trace of any formal
application for sermon having come before Edinburgh Presbytery prior to
this, but several ministers were in Orkney about the time of Mr Broadfoot's
ordination a year before, and one or more had probably preached in
Stronsay. Hence the state of progress the cause there had now reached.
First Minister. — James Sinclair, from Leslie (West). Mr Sinclair
was appointed to be taken on trials for licence in May 1798, and he was to
proceed to Orkney in the following spring. In May 1799, when he was
supplying there, the Synod missioned him to Kentucky, but at their meeting
in September letters came from Mr Broadfoot and himself, bearing that about
500 people in Stronsay were earnest to have him continued among them with
a view to his settlement as their minister. He was thereupon released from
proceeding to America. The next notice comes from the Missionary
Magazine again, to the effect that Mr Duncan of Mid-Calder preached in
Stronsay on 17th June 1800, when four elders were elected and Mr Sinclair
called unanimously. The ordination followed on the 25th, his trial dis-
courses having evidently been already given in and sustained to facilitate
matters. The Synod at their September meeting granted ^50 to assist with
the place of worship, information having reached them that the work was at
a stand. The next account we have is that the greater part of the inhabitants
were attending Mr Sinclair's ministry, and that there was a membership of
about 50. We are guided now by manuscript letters from Mr Sinclair to
his relatives in Leslie. In one of them he tells that at. the Lord's Supper on
the second Sabbath of June (1801) 255 communicated, about 200 of these
belonging to the island, while others were from Sanday, and a few from
Kirkwall. He was now at Johnshaven, waiting for a vessel to take him and
his bride, a sister of Mr Murray, the minister there, to their northern home.
A London smack had called at Stronsay early on Monday morning, when
he was abruptly summoned out of bed, and got on board within half-an-hour.
It reached Aberdeen on Wednesday afternoon, after which he had a journey
of thirty miles by the mail-coach. They had now people at all the post
towns in the neighbourhood on the outlook for smacks passing to convey
him and his "partner" from Johnshaven to Stronsay. It gives us a glimpse
of how communication was kept up between Orkney and the mainland in
those days.
Four years afterwards Mr Sinclair relates how the congregation, contrary
to what was expected, had rather increased, owing to a change in the parish
incumbency. Since then an elder of the Established Church, a merchant
who had long headed the opposition against him, was brought under serious
convictions, and one Sabbath Mr Sinclair was summoned to visit him in his
distress. The strain of anguish was such that the mental balance was
destroyed for a time ; and when it was restored, his own minister — an
elderly man recently translated from Shetland — "only told the awakened
man to keep a good heart and there was no fear of him." Mr Sinclair
was not clear as to any abiding change having been wrought, but, he added,
"he has since taken seats for himself and (his) wife with us — the servants
were members before." Mr Sinclair's work went on with devotedness and
success till the spring of 1811, when exposure and extra exertion induced
inflammation of the liver, "which terminated in confirmed induration." He
removed to Edinburgh, but the ailment baffled the power of medicine. In a
short Memoir of Mr Sinclair written by Professor Paxton there is an affect-
ing account of his submissive and hopeful state of mind during his illness.
In the latter part of 1812, when the cold weather was coming in, he went
over to Leslie to take farewell of his father and other near relatives ; but the
I
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 487
journey was too much for him, and he died there on 29th November, in the
forty-second year of his age and thirteenth of his ministry. In a letter
written some months before to his sister he thanks her warmly for her offer
to take some of the children, who were soon to be left fatherless. How they
were to be provided for, he said, was a dark prospect indeed, but the Lord
was all-sufficient. His widow became matron of the Charity Workhouse,
Edinburgh, and died, 2nd May 1822. One of his daughters, ten years after,
was married by Dr Ritchie of the Potterrow to the rector of the Grammar
School, Dumfries. A kind Providence seems to have met their wants and
opened up their way.
In 1814 Stronsay congregation called Mr James Miller, but Edinburgh
Presbytery had intimated on granting the moderation that they would not
undertake to sustain the call unless the people engaged to give £80, with the
manse, and the congregation having refused to move, the call was laid aside.
In May 181 5 the Synod was asked by Stronsay congregation to revive their
call, as they had now complied with the Presbyteiy's demands, but Mr
Miller was appointed to Huntly. They now called Mr Thomas Ketchen,
but he firmly refused to accept, and the Presbytery having handed him over
to the Synod he was rebuked and suffered to go free.*
Second Minister. — William T.wlor, from Logiealmond. The call was
sustained in October 1816, but Mr Taylor held back, as he did not consider
it a call of God, and the Presbytery thought fit to suspend him. At next
meeting he acknowledged that he had been too unbending, and agreed to
go, but with this proviso, that "if the climate did not agree with him, or the
people did not fulfil their engagements, the Presbytery would not stand in
the way of his demission." Ordained, 3rd June 18 17, and after remaining
in Stronsay for six years he demitted his charge, but it was for neither of
the above reasons that the step was taken. Mr Taylor had married the
daughter of a farmer in the island who had gone in for agricultural improve-
ments, which brought him into disfavour with his neighbours, and the son-
in-law was made so uncomfortable that he resolved to leave. The five
Orkney ministers met at Stronsay on 9th October 1823, with Presbyterial
powers, to deal with the demission. They found that for eight or ten
months a great part of the congregation had been refusing to pay seat
rents ; that many had withdrawn from attendance on ordinances ; and some
had formed themselves into a private meeting for prayer and conference on
the Lord's Day. The Presbytery decided that there was nothing in Mr
Taylor's deportment to warrant this line of action ; that umbrage had been
taken at matters over which he had no control, and in connection with
surmises and rumours which were baseless. Still, as Mr Taylor was urgent
to be loosed from his charge, they accepted his resignation on obtaining
security that arrears of stipend would be paid before Whitsunday. The
session was also enjoined to proceed against those members who had set
up a private meeting in opposition to the Sabbath ministrations of Mr
Taylor. Ample apologies for wrong-doing followed, as they well might.
At next meeting of Synod Mr Taylor's name was put on the probationer
list, and in 1829 he received a call to Burghead, which he declined to
entertain. He continued to itinerate as a probationer till 1846, and then
became chaplain of St Cuthbert's Poorhouse, Edinburgh. He died in
* Thomas Kelchen was from Howgate. He emigrated to America in 1820, and
was ordained minister of Shiloh and Neily's Creek, in South Carolina, on 20th Decem-
ber of that year. In 1832, when the Associate Synod issued a pointed warning
against slavery as a moral evil, he renounced their connection, and joined the
Associate Reformed Synod of the South. After this he engaged in teaching and as
occasional pulpit supply. He died, 26th September 1855.
488
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
AthoU Place, where he had long resided, on iith May 1865, in the eighty-
fourth year of his age. In 1824 Stronsay congregation issued a call to
Mr Robert Allan, afterwards of Tillicoultry, but they did not face the
trouble of prosecuting their claims.
Third Minister. — James Mudie, from Bell Street, Dundee. Ordained,
2nd December 1825, the call being signed by 173 members and 64 adherents.
In the thirteenth year of his ministry Mr Mudie reported a membership of
368. The minister's stipend was ^^85, with a manse and garden. The
church was situated towards the south-eastern extremity of the island, and
owing to this 52 families had to come from a distance of over four miles.
To remedy this evil a site was obtained much nearer the centre, and a
church, with sittings for 450, erected in 1858, with a befitting manse beside
it, the entire cost being ^875, exclusive of labour and cartage. The Presby-
tery undertook to raise ^100 if the congregation contributed ^300, and
;^200 was obtained from the Ferguson Bequest. In July i860 Mr Mudie's
illness was recorded by the Presbytery, and on 14th August it was found
that he was permanently disabled for public work, and a colleague became
indispensable, who would undertake the whole responsibility.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN Thomson, from John Street, Montrose. Or-
dained as colleague to Mr Mudie, 17th April 1861, the stipend to be .1^120,
with the manse. Mr Mudie after seeing his place filled removed to Blair-
gowrie, the people allowing him a small annual grant of ^10. He died at
Carnoustie, 22nd September 1863, in the seventy-third year of his age and
thirty-eighth of his ministry. His widow, a daughter of the Rev. Alexander
Balfour of Lethendy, was a woman of good understanding and devout spirit,
as the writer had occasion to know, and one of their daughters is the
wife of ex-Provost Moncur of Dundee. On 6th March 1866 Mr Thomson
was loosed from Stronsay on accepting a call to Henderson Church,
Edinburgh. At this stage the congregation raised the stipend to ^150,
with manse and garden, and called Mr David Thomas, who declined, and
was afterwards settled in Howgate.
Fifth Minister. — John Wilson, M. A., from Whitehill. Ordained, i6th
October 1867, and loosed on accepting a call to Canongate, P2dinburgh,
14th November 1871. This was followed by a call to Mr James M. Rae,
who preferred Maryhill.
Sixth Minister. — David Buchanan, from Kirkintilloch, who had
previously declined a call to Bolton. Ordained, 30th April 1873. A year
after this Mr Buchanan intimated to the Presbytery that the people had
agreed to raise his stipend to ^180, a step which wrought for evil in the end.
Within four years the financial condition of the congregation required the
attention of the Presbytery, the stipend being in arrears to the extent of
;^36, and Mr Buchanan was blamed for having urged the advance, and
other matters of complaint forced their way into notice, and widened out
into a sea of troubles. The minister, it was alleged, made an ill-judged
statement from the pulpit in the beginning of his ministry, reflecting on the
treatment their fathers gave Mr Taylor, one of his predecessors, and though
regret was expressed for this blunder of his the wound had never healed.
The case gave perplexing work to the Presbytery for three years, but the
two parties in the congregation, those adhering to the minister and those
bent on having him removed, were irreconcilable. A protest from Mr
Buchanan and his friends against certain decisions of the Presbytery should
have come before the Synod in 1882, but owing to illness in his family Mr
Buchanan could not attend, and the cause had to lie over for another year.
Meanwhile a memorial signed by 184 members expressing strong dis-
satisfaction with Mr Buchanan's ministry was lying on the Presbytery's table,
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 489
and arrears of stipend ran up till they reached ^240. In May 1883 Stronsay
Case in all its length and breadth was laid before the Synod, with documents
to the number of 63. It ended in the appointment of a Commission to
visit Orkney, confer with parties, and issue the case if they saw fit. The
result was that on 31st May Mr Buchanan gave in the demission of his
charge, which was accepted, the congregation to pay up all arrears, and his
name to be placed on the probationer list. After two years he was
inducted to Smethwick, near Birmingham, where he has laboured ever
since.
Seventh .Minister. — CLAUDE Brownlie, from Coatbridge (Dunbeth).
Ordained, 4th March 1885. Mr Brownlie was considered by those who
knew him as a man well fitted to assuage the troubled elements in Stronsay
Church. The membership in the beginning of 1900 was 383, and the stipend
from the people ^155, with the manse.
BIRSAY (Antiburgher)
BiRSAY IS one of two Secession congregations that find no place in Dr
M'Kelvie's Annals. It is also passed over in Dr George Brown's manu-
script volume, and the stepping-stones of its early history are few and far
between. The first notice of Birsay relates to the conducting of Sabbath
services there on 17th June 1800 by the Rev. James Robertson of Kilmar-
nock, v/ho had been sent north to Orkney to take part in the ordination of
the first minister at Stronsay, and on 3rd August 1801 the session of
Kirkwall, twelve miles distant, granted a petition, signed by 9 men resid-
ing in the parishes of Birsay and Evie, to be disjoined with the view of
forming a distinct congregation. They had the prospect of securing a piece
of ground "for building a house," and the Synod in May 1802 recommended
collections to assist them in erecting a place of worship. Their progress was
delayed by an interdict from a proprietor in the place, who complained that
the quarry formed by taking stones from the common would be dangerous
to his cattle, and the building was not completed till 1804. That year the
Synod sent Mr Andrew Ogilvie, of whom more is given under Wigtown, to
supply specially at Birsay, and that he might be better equipped for his
duties in that remote region he obtained ordination. In May 1805 a call
from Birsay to Mr John Wallace came before the Synod in competition with
another from Dunblane, when the latter was preferred. He probably wished
this, Orkney being looked on in those days as scarcely within the confines
of civilisation.
First Minister. — Archibald Willison, who had left Montrose (now
St Luke's) in 1804 after a ministiy of six years. He then removed to
Denny, where he had a small property, and returned to preacher life again.
While he was thus engaged Stirling Presbytery took up certain reports
which had got into circulation against him, some of them affecting his
general character and others his ecclesiastical consistency. It was found,
under his own handwriting, that he had been finessing for admission to the
Relief body, the reason assigned being that there were better vacancies
there than in his own connection. He had also taken possession of some
clerical note-books when putting up in Tillicoultr>' manse, and it was alleged
that one of the sermons they contained did service for him in a neighbour-
ing pulpit. Worse even than this, he was declared to be, by habit and re-
pute, a tale-bearer and an evil speaker, another epithet being added which
trenched on the libellous. But meanwhile he was sent to supply at Birsay,
where he got into the people's good graces, and obtained their call. It was
490 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the time of the rupture between the Constitutionalists and the General
Synod, and Mr Willison, finding himself hardly bestead through the action
of Stirling Presbytery, got over his Relief proclivities, and resolved to cast
in his lot with the Old Light party. His case came before the Synod in
1807, when the charges against him were found substantially established.
It was also certified that he had been striking out against the New Testi-
mony, endeavouring to detach Birsay congregation from the connection, and
damage the character of his brethren. The Synod felt keenly on the
matter, Birsay having owed much to their fostering care. But Mr Willison
had betaken himself to his fastness in Orkney, where he kept possession
of the pulpit, and they had no means of dislodging him. Sentence of de-
position, however, was pronounced against him, and a preacher was sent
north armed with an extract of the Minute, to be used as he found oppor-
tunity. Mr Broadfoot of Kirkwall was also requested to ascertain whether
it would be practicable to get possession of the property ; only, the Presby-
tery would not come good for the law expenses.
Mr Willison and the great majority of Birsay congregation now kept
together without any formal link between them ; but a few adhered to the
Synod, and sought membership in Kirkwall Church. Matters continued in
this state till 1809, when Mr Willison applied to be recognised by the
Constitutional Presbytery. They conversed with him on several matters
that had been laid to his charge, when he denied that he had sought
admission to the Relief, though he had held communication with two of
their ministers. As for the stolen note-books, he knew nothing about them,
and finding nothing proved against him they admonished him to be watch-
ful over his whole deportment, and received him into their fellowship. But
there was difficulty with his induction at Birsay. The journey was formid-
able, the members of Presbytery were few, and the call was two years old.
At last the way was cleared by the congregation signifying their adherence
to their former call and by Mr Willison sending in a letter of acceptance.
In August 18 1 2 the edict was served, and if there were any objectors they
were invited to appear at the distant town of Kirriemuir to state their case.
Mr Willison was next requested to send up a written declaration of his
continued adherence to his ordination vows. This being done, the Presby-
tery across the wide distance declared the pastoral bond formed, and a
preacher was to read this Minute in presence of the congregation on an
early Sabbath. It is found that the roll of membership kept for a long
time about 200, but evil days were in reserve. In November 181 7 the
congregation reported to the Presbytery that Mr Willison had left them in
painful circumstances, and had gone to reside near Denny. Friendly
relations between him and them had been disturbed prior to this with com-
plaints about their failure to afford him needed support. The Presbytery
now summoned him three times to appear before them ; but ill-health was
certified as a reason for absence, and he also wrote that, though he were
well, he would not attend. On 2nd March 1818 he was deposed for con-
fessed immorality, the sentence to be intimated at Birsay, and also at
Falkirk, " the nearest to where he is." After this he lived at East Boreland,
and betook himself to teaching. He seems to have died in the early
thirties^ and, so far as we can make out, he had attended at Dennyloanhead,
hio native congregation. Birsay O. S. Church had 190 members in 1884.
STROMNESS (Antiburgher)
Stromness is a seaport fourteen miles west of Kirkwall, and in the begin-
ning of the century it had a population of 2200. Notwithstanding the
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 491
distance a number of the inhabitants began early to attend the ministry
of Mr Broadfoot at Kirkwall, and in September 1802 the Synod arranged to
have a catechist stationed at Stromness, and also recommended Mr
Broadfoot to preach there as he found opportunity. A year later they
appointed a collection to be made in the several congregations on behalf
of Stromness, with this stipulation, that if the house they proposed to build
were not used for a place of worship the money should be refunded. It
appears from a letter written by Mr Sinclair of Stronsay that in July 1805
the work was begun, and in the following year 30 communicants, including
two elders, were disjoined from Kirkwall and formed into a separate con-
gregation. The church when finished cost ^600, and was seated for
643-
First Minister. — Andrew Wylie, from Auchtergaven. He had other
calls from Sanday and Thurso, but Stromness was preferred by the
Presbytery as the most important place of the three. Though the male
members subscribing were only 17 in number the adherents were 160.
Mr Wylie was ordained, nth October 1809. A successful ministry followed,
though it was disturbed at one time by contention about the mode of con-
ducting the psalmody, and the minister was recommended to have recent
innovations discontinued, and that only one person should be employed
to conduct the praise. For a twelvemonth the strife went on, and to re-
move a prominent stumbling-block the Presbytery counselled that there
should be no "band" collected in any particular part of the church,
and that those tunes which were most obnoxious should be discontinued.
Mr Wylie died, 27th July 1826, at his brother's house in Auchtergaven, and
was buried in the family resting-place. He was in the forty-third year of
his age and seventeenth of his ministry.
Second Minister.— VJ\hl.l\u Stobbs. Shortly after falling vacant the
congregation called Mr Stobbs, who was then a preacher ; but the Synod
in May 1827 appointed him to Ellon, though between the two places there
was no comparison. After waiting on for a year and a half Stromness
people renewed their call, and, the translation having carried, Mr Stobbs
was inducted to his new charge, nth June 1829. His stipend was to be
^120, with some additional items, but no manse. In 1837 he reported 544
communicants, of whom 60 were from Stennis parish and 37 from Orphir.
Of the families under his care 36 came from over four miles and 16 from
over six. The stipend, including sundry allowances, was about ^135, and
a manse had been recently built, the debt on which was in course of being
liquidated. There was also a subscription going on to effect a needed
enlargement on the church. At this time the minister superintended a
Sabbath-evening school for two hours with an attendance of 310, and at
his monthly prayer meeting he had between 200 and 300. Mr Stobbs died,
2 1 St March 1863, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and thirty-seventh of
his ministry. A new church was in course of erection at this time, and it
was opened on 28th June of that year, with sittings for 780, and built at
a cost of ^1800. Of Mr Stobbs' family relationships it may be stated that
his son, the Rev. Simon S. Stobbs, as is given under Ardrossan, joined the
Established Church about the time of his father's death. Another son,
Alexander, attended our Theological Hall four sessions, but became in-
capacitated for study, and died at Partick, loth April 1875, aged thirty-
eight. John, the youngest of the three was certified to the Hall by Orkney
Presbytery in 1861, but after attending one session he, like his brother
Simon, joined the Established Church. Having emigrated to Australia
he was ordained on 29th April 1875 o^^^ ^ congregation in West Melbourne,
left vacant by the death of the Rev. Andrew Robertson, formerly of Stow.
492
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
His death on loth August 1882 was much lamented by his brethren. Their
mother was a daughter of the Rev. Simon Sommerville, of Elgin.
Third Minister. — James S. Nisbet, from Mauchline. Ordained, 4th
July 1865. The congregation had previously called Mr David Webster,
but Kirkwall came between them and the object of their choice. At both
moderations Mr Thomson of Stronsay was proposed, and on the first
occasion he had 67 votes against 177. The present call was signed by 362
members and 104 adherents, and the stipend promised was ;^i5o, with
manse, taxes, and travelling expenses. On 4th May 1874 Mr Nisbet was
loosed from Stromness, having accepted the office of travelling secretary for
the National Bible Society, with its headquarters in Edinburgh.
Fourth Minister. — Thomas Kirkwood, from Beith (Head Street).
Ordained, 20th July 1876, and translated to Kelso (First), 7th June 1880.
During this vacancy the congregation issued two unsuccessful calls — the
first to Mr James G. Crawford, now of Limekilns, and the other to Mr James
Landreth, who afterwards accepted Brechin (Maisondieu Lane).
Fifth Minister. — David Woodside, B.D., from Darlington Place, Ayr.
Ordained, 7th December 1881. Called to Gillespie Church, Dunfermline,
in June 1885, and accepted Woodlands Road, Glasgow, on 4th August there-
after. After a vacancy of nearly a year a call from Stromness was declined
by Mr Andrew Gemmell, who some time after was ordained at Ford.
Sixth Minister. — Peter M. M'Dougall, a native of Renfrew, but was
ordained over a Congregational church at Ringwood, Hampshire, in
September 1881. Not finding himself comfortable in that situation he
withdrew from his charge and from the Independent connection in 1884,
and was admitted to the U.P. Church as an ordained probationer at the
Synod in the following May. In his paper of application he stated that
before receiving licence he attended, classes in Arts and Theology five
sessions of nine months each at Nottingham Independent Institute and
Cheshunt College. Having experienced the evils, as he believed, of ill-
balanced power under the' Congregational form of Church government he
came to regard the Presbyterian system, with its checks and counter-checks,
as nearer the Scripture model, and more in keeping with practical require-
ments. On points of doctrine and on the relations between Church and
State he was at one with the Church to which he had already transferred
his membership, and from which his relatives, though residing in England,
had never really been disjoined. Mr M'Dougall after his admission
acted for some time with much acceptance as locum tefte?ts for the
Rev. John Young of Newington, now our Home Mission Secretary, and he
was inducted to Stromness, 7th December 1886. There his course was
both brief and abruptly ended. On Tuesday, 15th December 1891, he
accompanied to the steamer the minister who had been assisting him at
the communion. Returning home, he was stricken with heart disease in a
violent form, and on the 25th, while preparing to go out for a short walk, he
suddenly expired, in the forty-third year of his age and eleventh of his
ministry. On New Year's Day he was laid to rest in Glasgow Necropolis.
After a vacancy of nearly a year and a half the congregation called Mr
David Mackie, who preferred Townhead, Dumfries.
Seventh Minister. — Thomas Simpson, from Newcastleton. Ordained,
20th March 1894. The membership at the close of 1899 was 381, with a
stipend of ^^200, and the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 493
SAN DAY (Antiburgher)
This is one of the most northerly islands, as well as the largest, in the Orkney
group, and in the beginning of the century it had a population of little under
2000. In the year 1800 sermon was occasionally obtained from Antiburgher
mmisters supplymg at Kirkwall, and Stronsay congregation had members
from Sandayat the communion in June i8oi.- In 1807 the first church was
built, with sittings for 420. The Synod in September 1808 granted the
Presbytery of Edinburgh permission to proceed with a moderation. The
stipend promised was ^50, with a house, and grass for two cows, and
the people hoped to make it ^60 the second year, and meanwhile the Synod
would grant them the additional ^10. But there was a wearisome waiting
on for nearly six years ere a fixed pastor was obtained. First they called
Mr Andrew Wylie, the call being signed by 29 male members and 23 male
adherents, but Stiomness, with fewer signatures, was preferred. Then Mr
John Miller was chosen, but the Synod appointed him to Linlithgow,
though by a very small majority. Immediately after this disappointment,
we read, the sacrament was dispensed to the people of Sanday, a rare thing
till a congregation was fully formed ; but it comforted them not a little,
and a considerable number acceded. In 1810 a call to the Rev. John Kirk,
formerly of Balbeggie, was set aside at the urgent request of the congregation'
rumours having got afloat in the island to his disadvantage.
Fz'rsf Mtms/er.— William Ramage, from Howgate. Ordained, 12th
July 1 8 14. But Mr Ramage was not to find a lasting abode in the Orkney
Islands. In the beginning of 1818 it was reported to the Presbytery that
there were 130 communicants, and that the stipend aimed at was ^80, with
other items, but within the space of three years they had fallen nearly ;^ioo
behind. It was also ascertained that 40 of the members contributed nothing
to the support of the gospel, a fault for which there was not abject poverty ■
to plead. The explanation was that they had lately come over from the
Established Church, and the session was, with all due tenderness, to stir
them up to exertion. It ended with Mr Ramage resigning his 'charge,
pleading deficiency in the sum promised and the irregularity with which
payments were made. The congregation petitioned for their ministers
continuance among them, and urged that four of the session were to
become personally responsible for the stipend. The resignation was to lie
on the table till it should be seen whether the proposed arrangements were
to work satisfactorily, but on iith August Mr Ramage came forward, in-
sisting on its acceptance, which was agreed to. He was inducted 'into
Kirriemuir the following year.
Sanday congregation next came forward with a call to Mr James Whyte,
the first of over a dozen which that probationer received, but when the call
was presented to him by Edinburgh Presbytery he pleaded that he was
under a previous appointment to go to America, and had prosecuted his
theological studies with that design, and after long dealing with him the
call was set aside. His name will come before us in other connections.
The next call was addressed to Mr William Parlane, afterwards of Tranent
but, without any equivalent reason to assign, he was at least as unbending as
Mr Whyte in his refusal to accept. In July 1821 a third call, signed by 50
male members and 30 adherents, was sustained. It was addressed to Mr
Adam D. Gillon, afterwards of Newcastle, but " he could not make up his
mind" to be settled in Sanday. The circumstances of the congregation at
this time were far from inviting. In building their church and providing a
manse for their minister debt had been incurred which, with their slender
means, they were unable to meet, now that payment was demanded. An
494 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
appeal for aid was needed, and in this way the ^loo required appears to
have been forthcoming, and Sanday was reserved for more prosperous days,
though trouble had in the first instance to be passed through.
Secottd Mi?tister. — John Crawford, from Lochwinnoch. Ordained, 8th
April 1823. The stipend promised was ^80, and a manse, "with a quantity
of peat for fuel." Mr Crawford's beginnings as a divinity student had not
been hopeful. His first homily was not sustained, his trials for licence were
rejected, and Glasgow Presbytery, after the specimens they had had of his
qualifications, advised him to turn his attention to some secular employment.
None the less he held on, and in due time was admitted to the charge of
Sanday, in Orkney. The first evidence we have that things were going
wrong is on 5th July 1827, when the Orkney ministers met at Sanday, under
the title and with the powers of Edinburgh Presbytery, to inquire into certain
complaints made against Mr Crawford by eleven of his elders. The finding
was that he had acted recklessly in the charges he had brought against
members of session and others. But the knot was cut by Mr Crawford
giving in his demission, which was accepted on the spot, and he was laid
under suspension for three months. There was a reaction now in the
minister's favour, and at the end of that period a petition for his I'estoration
signed by 46 members and 326 seat-holders was addressed to the Synod
but not transmitted by the Presbytery. Mr Crawford was also informed that
the sentence was now removed, and he was free to be employed as an
ordained minister, a privilege which he was not much longer to enjoy. At
next Synod he was allowed ^10 "owing to his peculiarly distressed situa-
tion." This was followed by a darkening down into hopeless insanity. Ten
years afterwards an annual grant of ^24 was allowed for his behoof He
was now in Hillhead Asylum, Greenock, and Mr Finlayson was requested to
take charge of the money and watch with kind attention over the poor
invalid. The sum was afterwards increased to ^30, and payment continued
till his death, which took place in Morningside on 13th April 1859, in the
sixty-third year of his age.
During this vacancy the congregation called Mr Robert Blackwood, and
the call was preferred by the Presbytery to another from South Ronaldshay,
but after part of his trials had been delivered notice came of a competing
call from Banff, and the people of Sanday agreed to stand out of the way.
Third Minister. — JOHN Paul, from Muirton. Ordained, 14th December
1830. The call was signed by 46 male members and 59 adherents, and the
stipend was to be ^80, with manse, garden, supply of fuel, and sacramental
expenses. In 1850 a new church was built two miles nearer the centre of
the island at a cost of £700, the sittings being 600. In 1868 Sanday con-
gregation reached the self-supporting point, having made the stipend ^150.
Six years after this, when Mr Paul was completing the forty-fourth year of
his ministry, his people at his own request arranged to provide him with a
colleague. On his partial retirement they were to give him ^^50 a year, and
the junior minister was to have .^180, with the occupancy of the manse.
Fourth Minister. — David Calderwood, M.A., from East Kilbride.
Ordained, 22nd November 1876. The call was signed by 470 members and
92 adherents. The communion roll four years after this numbered 561 ;
whereas there were not more than 1 50 at Mr Paul's ordination half-a-centur)'
before. A new church, with between 700 and 800 sittings, was built in 1881
at a cost of ^2000, of which sum ^1000 was subscribed by the congregation
at the time. Mr Calderwood became sole pastor on the death of his col-
league, 15th November 1884, in the eighty-sixth year of his age and fifty-
fourth of his ministry, leaving his name deeply engraven on the island of
Sanday. For Mr Calderwood a long period of uncertain health followed, by
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 495
which his labours were frequently interrupted ; but a call to Milngavie opened
a way of escape from the demands of the Orkney climate, and was accepted,
4th March 1895. ^n the following February the congregation called Mr
John Deas Logic, who declined.
Fifth Minister.— G'EOKG-E LuKE, B.D., from Kinross (East). Ordained,
26th August 1896. In the beginning of that year there was still a debt of
£7700x1 the church, but before its close the congregation raised j^2oo, realised
nearly ^300 by a bazaar, received ^100 from the Kirkwall Trust, and the
remamder was cancelled by the Mission Board. Three years after this the
membership was 491, and the stipend ^190, with the manse. The popula-
tion of the island has decreased almost exactly 200 within the last ten years.
HOLM (Antiburgher)
This parish is on the mainland of Orkney, and about six miles south-east of
Kirkwall. For some account of the minister who occupied the Established
church pulpit for a short time in the latter part of the eighteenth century we
are indebted to the Journal of the Haldanes when they were on their mission-
ary tour through the north of Scotland. At Kirkwall they heard a minister
preach from the text : " Behold, the fear of the Lord that is wisdom, and to
depart from evil that is understanding." It is added: "The whole of the
fear of God and of religion he comprehended in the discharge of the social
duties, of which the chief that he insisted on was honesty. This was the only
way in which man could commend himself to the favour of God. The name
of Christ was not once mentioned." Visiting Holm a fortnight later the
writer says : " That minister was about to be translated to this parish.
We learned that only 7 had signed his call." This was Mr W. Anderson.
He was inducted to Holm, 31st May 1798, and removed to St Fergus within
five months. But the Secession cause was now finding wide acceptance in
Kirkwall, and many families from the parish of Holm were received into
membership there. The distance being considerable they applied to Edin-
burgh Presbytery for sermon on 7th November 1814, and, assuming this step
had been taken with the full concurrence of their own minister and session
the Presbytery agreed to grant the application in so far as supply might be
available. The church, "which was completely full of people seated on
temporary boards," was opened next month by Mr Broadfoot of Kirkwall,
and at the close of the service six persons were elected to the eldership. In
May 181 5 a call from Holm to Mr Charles Robertson was sustained, of
whom some particulars are given under Huntly. The stipend was to be
^80, with house rent, meanwhile, and £s once every third year for Sy nod-
ical expenses. But Mr Robertson, besides considering the stipend in-
adequate, disliked the desolate appearance of the country, and Holm people
were unwilling that he should come among them with reluctance, or that the
Presbytery should proceed to extreme measures with him, and the call was
set aside.
First Minister. — THOMAS Christie, from Alloa (now Townhead). Or-
dained, 2 1 St November 18 16, the call being signed by 72 male members and
84 adherents. In 18 18 the stipend was ^90, with ^8 for a house, and £4
at each communion. A manse was now in course of erection, and in 1821
most of the debt on the property being paid ofl^, the stipend was raised ^30!
Mr Christie resigned, loth July 1832. The congregation craved the Pres-
bytery to dissuade him from leaving them, and a committee was appointed
to confer with him in the evening. Next day the Presbytery met at Shapin-
shay for the ordination of Mr Brown, and on the 12th they were constituted
anew at Kirkwall. The committee reported that Mr Christie gave as his
496 HISTORY OF U,P. CONGREGATIONS
reasons for demitting his charge that he believed he had the call of God to
go to Canada ; that his stipend did not meet the wants of his increasing
family ; that he did not wish to be burdensome to the congregation ; and that
his offer of missionary service had been accepted by the Synod's committee.
His people had also sent a deputation to induce him to remain with them,
but they found that he was fully determined to go. His resignation was
therefore accepted by his brethren, but with sincere regret. In Canada Mr
Christie became minister of West Flamborough, where he continued in the
active discharge of his duties till within a fortnight of h(s death. He died,
8th September 1870, in the eighty-eighth year of his age and fifty-fourth of
his ministry. It is stated that Mr Christie was never quite reconciled to the
Union with the Free Church of Canada in 1861.
Second Mi?tzster. — Peter Buchan, M.A., who had been ordained at
Sandwick two and a half years before. The call was signed by 227 members
and 43 adherents, and some explained that they held back from subscribing
owing to sympathy with Sandwick. The stipend promised was ^90, with
manse, garden, and sacramental expenses. They were also to provide their
minister with fuel if the proprietor allowed, and they would give him 2
guineas as half of his contribution to the Widows' Society. Inducted, loth
July 1833. In 1835 Mr Buchan published a pamphlet on the Voluntary
question in reply to a Defence of Church Establishments by the Rev. Ebenezer
Ritchie, minister of the Original Secession Church, Kirkwall. He died at
Glasgow, 19th September 1859, in the fifty-ninth year of his age and twenty-
ninth of his ministry.
Third Minister. — John Pettigrew, from Glasgow (Hutchesontown).
Ordained, 22nd January 1861. There was want of harmony from the first,
and at the moderation, while 137 voted for Mr Pettigrew, 60 voted for Mr
W. R. Murray, afterwards of Ardrossan, now of Manchester. A large
number also held back from signing the call, but a majority of the Presby-
tery felt themselves shut up to sustain it, only they were to apprise Mr
Pettigrew how matters stood, hoping, probably, that he would decline. On
5th July 1864 conflict began with a memorial from the elders of Holm
representing that they were "in great trouble and perplexity with respect to
the conduct and actings of their minister and the state of the congregation."
Some heavy charges were brought forward, and two of their number were
instructed to prosecute the case by framing a libel against their minister.
The proceedings into which this opened out convulsed Orkney and split
Holm congregation. After prolonged accumulation of evidence in the
Presbytery, and a succession of " scenes " on the part of the accused, the case
came at last before a Synodical Committee, which, though setting aside some
of the counts declared proven by the Presbytery, found there had been much
in Mr Pettigrew's conduct that was reprehensible, and pronounced the
charge of " untruthfulness, deception, and wilful non-fulfilment of promises"
established. At the close the Synod continued his suspension from office,
and appointed a committee to proceed to Orkney, and, in conjunction with
the Presbytery, make further investigations, and issue the case. At next
Synod the report given in was that on 15th August 1865 Mr Pettigrew had
been loosed from his charge. His suspension was also to remain unlifted
till that meeting, a decision in which Mr Pettigrew acquiesced, but saw
reason to change his mind after it was too late. When Presbytery and
committee met at the opening of the Synod it was found that he had been
retaining possession of the manse, and for this and other disorderly mani-
festations the sentence was prolonged. He then protested and appealed,
but having made no appearance in the hour of cause he was laid under
suspension sine die^ and in that state he remained to the end.
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 497
It had fared ill, meanwhile, with Holm congregation. In dissolving the
pastoral tie care should have been taken to see that the minister, whose
demeanour while the proceedings went on had been "respectful and
seemly," should at once give up the manse. There were no family entangle-
ments to detain him on the ground, and his presence there was only fitted
to irritate feeling and keep the wound open. No good could come to
anyone from Mr Pettigrew remaining in Holm, absenting himself from
public worship, and writing characteristic letters to the Orkney newspapers.
The attendance in what used to be a well-filled church had now come down
from about 500 to less than half that number, and in November of that year
a petition to be erected into a congregation under their inspection was laid
before the Free Church Presbytery of the bounds signed by 179 members
and 86 adherents. Their last minister, they alleged, had been treated
most unconstitutionally, as well as themselves, by the U.P. Presbytery, and
they had no confidence in the session of Holm. To return to their former
communion was an idea not to be entertained, and inconsistent with the
hope of receiving spiritual edification. Communications passed between the
two Presbyteries, but in the end the petition was granted, and a Free Church
minister ordained over the new formation in 1869.
Before passing from this subject we may glance back at the early part of
Mr Pettigrew's probationer life. Having a highly popular though theatrical
delivery he was acceptable as a preacher, and in no long time obtained a
call to Johnshaven. It happened, however, that he supplied at Muirton
when in that locality, and the Presbytery saw reason for communicating with
him about some " gross imprudences " of which he had been guilty during
his brief stay in that place. He replied in a tone of levity, assigning a tem-
porary ailment as his reason for oftener than once betaking himself to a
tavern in no very select company. He also told them that in like circum-
stances he might do the same thing again. The Presbytery, with the consent
of the commissioners from Johnshaven, laid the call aside, and intimated to
Mr Pettigrew that such disregard to his own character and the honour of
the sacred ofiice would be tolerated in no preacher, and allowed the matter
to drop. Had they acted with more thoroughness the church in Orkney
might have been spared reproach, and the Holm Case been unheard of. It
might even have saved Mr Pettigrew from many ups and downs in his after
life. Twice, we believe, he attempted for a time to resum.e clerical functions ;
but moral gravitation was at work, and at his death in (»lasgow on 19th
November 1887 he was entered as a railway company's storekeeper. He
was a widower, and though only in his sixty-first year he was certified to
have died of "senile decay." Such was the end of one who under better
control might have adorned a pulpit in a higher position than that of
Holm in Orkney.
The congregation in its now reduced state ceased to be self-supporting,
and during the vacancy of four and a half years which followed they issued
five unsuccessful calls, with long breathing times between. The first was
addressed to Mr James M. Copland, now of Catrine ; the second to Mr
Thomas Kirk, now of Haymarket, Edinburgh ; the third to Mr Henry Glen,
now of Mitchell Church, Beith ; the fourth to Mr William Rutherford, now of
Chirnside ; and the fifth to Mr James Paton, afterwards of Holm of Balfron.
Fourth Minister. — CHARLES Runcim.\n, from Glasgow (Anderston).
Ordained, 8th February 1870. The membership was only 150, and the
stipend from the people had to be reduced to ^80, with the manse,
ground, and sacramental expenses. .A.t the end of 1899 there were in the
parish of Holm, with its population of not more than 700 or 800, besides
the PZstablished church, the U.P. church, with 166 communicants, and a
II. 2 I
498 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
total income of ^127 for the year, and a Free church, with 165 communicants,
and a total income of ^^90.
WESTRAY (United Secession)
This island, which lies about ten miles north-west of the mainland of
Orkney, began to be supplied with missionary preachers in 1821. After
going on for two years in this way a place of worship was built, with 440
sittings, and the expense met by subscriptions from the people and their
friends, with the addition of ^20 from the Synod Fund. The church is
situated near the centre of Westray, which, along with two or three little
islands adjoining, had a population of about 2000, its greatest length being
ten miles and its greatest breadth six or seven. In October 1823 it was
agreed to erect the members into a congregation.
First Minister. — GEORGE Reid, from what had been the Burgher con-
gregation at Lauder. Ordained, 15th June 1825, and a session of four elders
had been constituted shortly before. The call was signed by 39 members
and 27 adherents. In 1830 he was called to Newcastle (Blackett Street),
but when the case came before the Synod a communication was read from
Mr Reid, the purport of which may be gathered from the fact that without
a vote he was continued in Westray. In 1838 the communicants numbered
205, and the stipend was ^85, with a manse and small glebe. About this
time Mr Reid published a sermon in the Secession Magazine on The Spiritual
Leaven, in which he went back beyond the beginning of his ministry, and
said : " Fifteen years ago you had no existence as a Christian society ; now
you are a congregation consisting of some hundreds. You had no meetings
for social prayer and mutual instruction ; now you have them in every
neighbourhood. You had no Sabbath-school teaching ; now you are afford-
ing religious instruction to no less than 300 of the rising generation, who
might otherwise have been entirely neglected." Still, these marks of pro-
gress did not prevent Mr Reid turning his thoughts towards mission work in
America, and with this in view he resigned his charge in July 1839. But the
congregation having earnestly pleaded for his continuance among them, and
the Presbytery having thrown their influence into the same scale, he asked
a little time for deliberation, and then agreed to relinquish his purpose.
After this he settled down for his life work in Westray, where he died, 7th
July 1862, in the sixty-fifth year of his age and thirty-eighth of his ministry.
Second Minister. — Alexander Wither, from Wellington Street,
Glasgow. At the moderation Mr Wither had a majority over Mr James
Graham, afterwards of Broughty Ferry, and he was ordained, i6th July
1862, a week after his predecessor's death. At the close of three years Mr
Wither intimated to the Presbytery that during eight months of the year he
found it impossible to accomplish pastoral work owing to the state of his
health in Westray, and begged to be loosed from his charge. The congre-
gation gave expression to the good feeling that had subsisted all along
between them and their minister, and their wish to retain him. But on 7th
August 1865 his demission was accepted. A year afterwards Mr Wither
was welcomed into the Presbyterian Church of Victoria, and laboured in
that connection till the beginning" of 1871, when he returned home with his
status fully certified. On 27th May 1873 he was inducted into Bolton (St
Stephen's), from which he was loosed on 13th July 1874, and the congrega-
tion some time afterwards amalgamated with the English Presbyterian
Church in Bolton. He next obtained a permanent settlement in Cabrach.
Third Minister. — James M. Cruickshank, from Springburn. Ordained, ,
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 499
1 8th October 1866. Though Mr Cruickshank's ministry in Westray lasted
much longer than that of his predecessor it closed with like explanations.
It recalls what the parish minister testified a generation before: that the
dampness of the climate, the frequent rains, and the total want of made
roads rendered a considerable part of Westray nearly impassable during
the winter and spring months. In this situation Mr Cruickshank's health
suflfered, and he was warned that if he remained it might be permanently
injured. The people, from their wish to retain him, proposed to give him
leave of absence for six months, but he felt it would be for their interest as
well as his own to abide by the resolution he had formed, and accordingly
the bond was dissolved, 20th April 1874. Within a year and a half he was
admitted to St RoUox, Glasgow, having been called in the interval to Logie-
almond ; Auchterarder (North); Banff; and Holm, Kilmarnock. As for
Westray, it had a vacancy of considerably more than two years to pass
through, during which the congregation called, without success, Mr Wilson
Baird, now of Mauchline, and Mr James Landreth, afterwards of Brechin.
Fourth Minister.— A.'iiT)^-Eyf Chapman, M.A., from Bell Street, Dundee.
Ordained, 29th August 1876. The stipend from the congregation was fixed
at ^160 in all. The membership three years later was not under 300. Mr
Chapman, having decided on emigrating to Queensland, was loosed from
Westray, 26th May 1890. He was afterwards settled at Gympie, in that
colony, but in 1899 he is entered as a minister without a charge.
Fifth JZ/Vzw/fr.— Robert James, M.A., from Glasgow (Erskine Church),
a nephew of the Rev. George F. James, Bristo Church, Edinburgh, and a
brother of the Rev. David James, then in Galston. Ordained, 19th March
1 89 1. The climate again counselled a change, from family considerations,
and on 20th July 1894 Mr James accepted a call to Gorebridge — a much
smaller congregation — and was loosed from Westray. Next February the
congregation called Mr William Mackenzie, who accepted Alexandra
Parade, Glasgow.
Sixth Minister. — DONALD Ross, from Bathgate. Ordained, 6th June
1895. The membership on the eve of the Union was 250, and the stipend
from the people ^120, which was made up from other sources to ^i8o,
besides the manse.
SOUTH RONALDSHAY (United Secession)
This is the most southerly of the Orkney islands, being separated from the
mainland of Scotland by only six and a quarter miles of water. It came but
slightly under Secession influence till 1825, when a station was opened, and
a church built, with 342 sittings, at a cost of .^450. The congregating
followed in January 1827. Before obtaining a pastor the congregation ex-
perienced three disappointments. In 1828 they called Mr Peter Mather, but
after giving part of his trials he was sent to West Kilbride by the Synod.
In 1829 they called Mr John Hunter, who declined, and was afterwards
minister at Belford.* They next called Mr Robert Blackwood, whom the
Presbytery assigned to Sanday, but Banff became his destination.
First Minister.— Fetkr M'Guffie, from Wigtown. Ordained, 2nd
December 1830, the first of three preachers who were settled in Orkney
* John Hunter was from Penicuik. After declining South Ronaldshay he itiner-
ated two years as a probationer, and then was ordained at Belford on 17th August
1831. He was nominally junior minister till the death of his aged colleague, the
Rev. John Thomson, on 25th February 1845. Mr Hunter died, 2nd August 1866, in
the sixty-second year of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry.
500 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
vacancies within a fortnight. In 1838 the communicants present at the
summer celebration numbered 1 54. The stipend was ^90, a contribution to
the Widows' Fund, and fuel to the value of ^3 a year. The minister had
also a manse, which cost over ^450, and the debt on the property was only
^50, thanks very much to Kirkwall congregation. Some families in Burray
were also under the minister's care, and one of the three services was occa-
sionally performed there. In 1840 Mr M'Gufifie was sent to Lerwick to
preside at a moderation, and the call came out for himself He declined the
first offer, but accepted another a twelvemonth later, and on 14th July 1841
was loosed from South Ronaldshay.
Second Minister. — Alexander Miller, M.A., son of the Rev. James
Miller, Huntly. Ordained, 7th June 1843. Earnest, unostentatious work
now went on for five years, when Mr Miller was constrained to resign
owing to his wife's health, though, under strong inducements, the sever-
ance was put back for a time. The step was repeated on 2nd January 1849,
and the connection dissolved, and that same day a call was addressed to Mr
Miller from Keith, where he was inducted on the 25th. The congregation
during the vacancy of four years which now intervened issued four unsuccess-
ful calls — the first, in November 1849, to Mr George Morris, afterwards of
Dairy, Ayrshire ; the second, in July 1850, to Mr John Mathison, afterwards
of Monkwearmouth, of whom there is more under Largo ; the third, in
January 185 1, to Mr James Galloway, who had his trials prepared, but
accepted Sutton instead, as is given under Dunning (Burgher) ; and the
fourth, in November 1852, to Mr R. S. Drummond, now Dr Drummond of
Glasgow, who began in Carlisle.
Third Minister. — Andrew Whytp:, M.A., from Glasgow (now Cathedral
Square). Ordained, 21st December 1853. In the following year it was
decided with the Presbytery's approval to have the church removed from its
former situation to St Margaret's Hope, at the north-west corner of the
island, about half-a-mile distant. The place of worship was to be less con-
venient for the people of Burray, and in April 1855 they were formed into a
distinct congregation, which entailed a loss of 60 members. The new church
at South Ronaldshay was finished about the close of 1856, with sittings for
315 people. To meet the cost of ^387 the sum of ^187 was previously
secured. Of the other ^200 the congregation hoped to raise ^75, and an
unexpected grant of ^150 was obtained from the Ferguson Bequest. Kirk-
wall also sent in ^10, and in the early part of 1858 the congregation was
pronounced free of debt. By the change of position the church was brought
into close proximity with the original manse. After nearly fourteen years'
service in South Ronaldshay Mr Whyte, on 21st October 1867, accepted a
call to Clackmannan, a congregation with not half the membership, but
much nearer the home centre.
Fourth Minister. — Robert Edgar, from Glasgow (now Elgin Street).
Ordained, 20th October 1868. The membership when Mr Whyte left was
little under 200, and the stipend arrangements were now ^80 from the
people and ^40 of supplement, with the manse. Mr Edgar preached usually
once a month in the south parish, five miles off, and drew 30 members from
that part of the island. Some years before there was the promise of a fair
congregation there ; but the movement was not encouraged at headquarters
in Orkney, and the Established Church stepped in. Still, the above figures
prove that our hold of that corner was not altogether lost. Mr Edgar was
loosed from South Ronaldshay on 7th October 1873, having accepted an
invitation to undertake the upbuilding of a mission church in connection
with Wellington congregation, Glasgow. This led to the formation of what
is now Cranstonhill Church. In their vacant state South Ronaldshay people
I
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 501
called Mr John Meiklejohn, who accepted Kirkmuirhill, and Mr Thomas
Sclater, who preferred, though an Orcadian, to settle down in Inverkeithing.
Fifth J//>z/>/^r.— Alexander Robertson, from College Street, Edin-
burgh, who had at the same time the choice of Rousay. Ordained, 7th
December 1875. There was a membership now of 235, and the people
engaged for ^120 of stipend, with sacramental expenses, and the manse.
They also expressed the hope of reaching the self-supporting point by another
year. The stipend was then announced to be ^157, los. On 18th October
1 88 1 Mr Robertson's demission was accepted owing to the need for a change
of climate. His name afterwards became closely associated with San Remo,
where he did good work among the English-speaking visitors for a period of
years. He was also active in carrying through the building of a beautiful
but costly church, which he described as an ornament to San Remo. It was
estimated that £\ooo would meet the expenditure, but it went to ^2400,
besides ^1300 for the site, and at the end of 1888 the debt was found to be
over ^2000. One doubts the wisdom of that large investment on a building
which stands unused during half the year. In 1890 Mr Robertson's engage-
ment with the Colonial Committee terminated, and he entered on regular
work at Venice, where he had already conducted services part of the year.
In 1894 he published " Era Paolo Sarpi, the greatest of the Venetians," and
some time afterwards he received the degree of D.D. from M'Gill College,
Montreal. Since then, besides other things, he has written sharp exposures
of Popery from an Italian point of view. At the General Assembly in 1900
he petitioned to have his station at Venice recognised as belonging to the
Church of Scotland, with the petitioner as its minister, and was admitted
accordingly.
Sixth Minister. — Peter Smith, from Braehead. Ordained, 19th De-
cember 1882, after an unsuccessful call had been given to Mr James Milroy,
subsequently of Freuchie. Mr Smith only remained two years in South
Ronaldshay, having accepted a call to Clune Park, Port-Glasgow, on 6th
January 1885.
Seventh Minister. — WlI.l.lAM Baldwin, from Wallace-Green, Berwick.
Ordained, 22nd September 1885. In the beginning ot 1900 the membership
was 190, and the stipend from the people ^120, with the manse.
SANDWICK (United Secession)
The first notice of Sandwick in the Secession records is on 6th January
1829, when a petition for sermon from 17 persons in that parish was granted
by Edinburgh Presbytery. A church, with 400 sittings, was built the same
year. Sandwick was originally joined to Stromness parish, and the appli-
cants complained that they used to have service only once a fortnight, and
enjoyed neither pastoral visitation nor a regular ministry, and the Lord's
Supper had not been dispensed among them from time immemorial.
First Minister.— Fktf.k Buchan, M.A., from Johnshaven. Ordained,
8th December 1830. Mr Buchan had received a prior call to Muirkirk,
from which the Synod relieved him in April of that year at his own request,
and Orkney was now to be the scene of his life work. In Sandwick, how-
ever, he was so uncomfortable at first that before a year elapsed he tendered
his resignation. Unwilling to be deprived of their minister's services in so
short a time the congregation met and subscribed a considerable sum.
This put matters to rights, and, believing that the Presbytery would aid in
providing him with suitable accommodation, Mr Buchan agreed to stay on
in Sandwick. The church and manse together cost ^Coo, an e.vpenditure
502 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
which was met, all but ^120, through liberal aid from their brethren in
Orkney, and specially, we may believe, in Kirkwall. But severance between
minister and people came soon after, owing to a call from[the larger and more
important congregation of Holm. The translation was agreed to on igth
June 1833, and Sandwick was left vacant.
Second Minister. — William S. M'Gowan, from Wigtown. Ordained,
14th July 1835. The stipend, including an allowance from the Synod Fund,
was to be ^80, besides a manse, a piece of ground, and sacramental
expenses. In 1848 it was ^90, of which the congregation raised ^50, and
as a token for good they contributed that year from their scanty resources
£2^ for missions. In 1855 Mr M'Gowan arranged to leave for Canada
under the auspices of the Mission Board, but was prevailed on to remain.
Other ten years of labour at Sandwick followed, and then his resignation was
accepted in compliance with an appointment to a mission congregation in
New Zealand. With this view he was loosed from his charge on 24th April
1865, being now in his sixtieth year, a stage of life with which his appear-
ance fully corresponded. In his adopted country Mr M'Gowan was inducted
to Hull, 8th January 1866, from which he was translated to Littleton in
October 1870. He resigned, owing to advanced years, in October 1876, and
died, 13th March 1877, in the seventy-first year of his age and forty-second
of his ministry.
During the year 1866 Sandwick congregation called Mr Thomas Kirk,
now of Haymarket, Edinburgh ; Mr Alexander M 'Donald, now of Loch-
maben ; and Mr Robert Lindsay, afterwards of Creetown, but all three
preferred to remain on the preachers' list for the time.
Third Minister. — James Torry, from Dunbar (East). Ordained, i6th
August 1867. The stipend was now to be ;^I20, with the manse — £7^ from
the congregation and £^'^ from the Board. In a few years dissensions
arose over some unhappy rumours regarding Mr Torry, which the Presby-
tery, after investigation, pronounced baseless. None the less, a change of
sphere became eminently desirable, and in August 1872 he tendered his
demission. Of the congregation, 73 expressed full confidence in their
minister, while 88 pleaded for full and impartial investigation. The demis-
sion was accepted on ist October. Having emigrated to New Zealand,
like his predecessor, he was inducted to Hawera, i6th November 1879,
with a stipend of ^226 in all. He died there after a protracted illness,
19th July 1885, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and eighteenth of his
ministry.
Fourth Minister. — GEORGE S. Soutar, M.A., from Carnoustie. The
congregation had suffered through the commotion connected with the
removal of their former minister, and the membership came down from 191
to 124. In July 1873 they called Mr John Campbell, afterwards of St
Andrew Square, Greenock, but without success ; and they had even been
told that, unless they learned to study the things that make for peace, they
might have difficulty in obtaining a minister at all. But Mr Soutar accepted
their invitation, and was ordained, 22nd September 1874. Five years after-
wards there was a membership of 169, and at the end of 1899 it amounted
to 195, the stipend from the people being ^80, which was made up from
other sources to ^173, with the manse.
SHAPINSHAY (United Secession)
This island, which is about four miles N.N.E. from Kirkwall, seems to have
early sent in a number of families to Mr Broadfoot's ministry. It is about
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 503
seven miles long by five broad, and in the early part of the century the
population was about 1000. In August 1797 the Haldanes, who visited
Shapinshay, recorded that there had been only two or three sermons
preached there since last General Assembly, the minister having been
detained in Edinburgh to give evidence in a trial. They brought this
forward to show the neglected state of many parishes in Orkney. In Sep-
tember 1830 the members of Kirkwall congregation residing in Shapinshay
petitioned the Synod to erect them into a congregation, which the Presby-
tery of Edinburgh was authorised to do. The need for gospel ordinances
among themselves had been painfully emphasised by a distressing accident
nine years before, of which particulars are given in our notice of the Rev.
William Borwick, Bell Street, Dundee. But it was not till 1831, when
Orkney Presbytery was formed, that a church was organised, and a year
later the Synod agreed to allow ^15 for three years in the event of a settled
ministry being obtained. About the same time a church was built, with
accommodation for 400.
First Minister. — James Brown, from Methven. Ordained, nth July
1832. The stipend at first was only ^60, with sacramental expenses, and
house accommodation till the manse was built. About twenty years after
this the island suffered much from emigration, and the congregation had to
receive a grant of ^45 for two years from the Synod. In 1854 the church
required to be rebuilt, which was accomplished at the humble figure of ^185,
of which the congregation contributed ^6o, the Presbytery a like sum, and
^65 remained to be arranged for. Quietly and unobtrusively Mr Brown's
work went on till 1864, when he was prostrated by sudden illness, and on
22nd July 1865, after lying for eight months "on a bed of trouble, calm,
submissive, and devout," he wrote a letter to his people thanking them for
all the respect and kindness they had shown him, and teUing them that, as
he had no hope of restoration at his advanced age, he was about to resign
his charge into the hands of the Presbytery. He died on 8th August, in the
sixty-third year of his age and thirty-fourth of his ministry. There was a
membership now of over 230.
After a year's vacancy the congregation called Mr William Cuthbertson,
who declined, and went in 1868 to Portadown, Ireland. He comes up again
under Holm, Kilmarnock. They next called Mr Alexander M. Dalrymple,
who Hkewise declined, and was afterwards ordained at Smethwick,* near
Birmingham. The third unsuccessful call was addressed to Mr James
Cordiner, who soon after obtained Charlotte Street, Aberdeen.
Second Minister.— Y\.VM^\ M. Fleming, from Loanends, Ireland. Or-
dained, 1 8th February 1868. The call was signed by 206 members and
80 adherents, and the stipend from the people was £130, with the manse.
On 6th July 1875, native partialities having prevailed, Mr F'leming accepted a
call to Cullybackey, in Ireland, where he still labours. Special difficulty was
experienced at this time in obtaining a minister — probationers, as a rule,
having more vacancies than usual at command. In 1876 Mr G. F. Dewar
declined, preferring Musselburgh (Bridge Street), and in 1878 Mr John
Brown declined, preferring Kinclaven, and Mr Adam Baillie declined, pre-
ferring Errol. Then, turning in the direction of an ordained minister, they
called the Rev. W. B. Melville, who remained in Burray for the time.
Third Minister.— Ro^v.KT E. HUTCHISON, from Dunning, where he had
been brought up in connection with the Original Secession Church. Admitted
* Alexander M. Dalrymple, M.A., from Kirkgate, Leith. Ordained at Smeth-
wick, near Birmingham, 9th June 1868, a year after declining Shapinshay. Emi-
grated to New Zealand in 1885. Occupied at first a vacant pulpit in Dunedin, and
was afterwards inducted into Clutha, in the Presbytery of the same name.
504
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
as a probationer by the U.P. Synod in May 1878, and ordained at Shapinshay,
2!st October 1879. In July 1887 Mr Hutchison offered himself to the Colonial
Board for Australia, but after some delay they advised him to continue his
work in Shapinshay, in the hope that his troubles, whatever they may have
been, would soon be got over. Thus another year passed, and then, an
agent of the Church in New South Wales having undertaken to pay his
passage money to that colony, he gave in his resignation, which was
accepted by the Presbytery on i8th September 1888. There he was inducted
to Walchet by the Presbytery of New England, and he is now in charge of
two young congregations within the same bounds.
Fourth Minister. — David Shearer, M.A., from Stromness. Ordained,
22nd October 1889. A new church, which had been spoken of years before
as greatly needed, was opened by Mr Webster of Kirkwall on Sabbath,
13th March 1892, free of debt. It has accommodation for about 300, and
cost ^800, towards which the congregation contributed ^200, the minister
raised ^400, and a grant of ^200 was obtained from the Central Board. On
19th June 1894 Mr Shearer accepted Wick. Mr Thomas Scott, M.A., from
Larkhall, was now called, but he preferred to remain on the list.
Fifth Minister. — Andrew Aitken, from Newtown, St Boswells. Or-
dained, nth June 1895. The membership at the time of the recent Union
was about 190, and the stipend from the people ^75, which the supplement
raised to ^159, with the manse.
EDAY (United Secession)
In 1824 Mr Paterson of Kirkwall, having visited this island, set up a library
in it, and arranged to have the people provided to some extent with sermon.
Eday in those days was dependent on the parish minister of Stronsay for
religious ordinances, and he officiated there only every fourth Sabbath, and
observed the communion only every fourth year. The sailing distance is
four miles, and owing to the state of the currents few would think of crossing
for public worship, and as for education, there was not a school in the island
till 1827. Such was its ecclesiastical position, though it had a population at
that time of over 900, and covers an extent of six and a half by two and a
half miles. The next distinct notice we have of Eday is in May 1827, when
the Synod appointed the Rev. Alexander Balfour of Lethendy to preach six
Sabbaths there that summer — a suitable arrangement, the Rev. James Mudie
of Stronsay, the neighbouring island, being his son-in-law. Five years after-
wards the Presbytery of Orkney was authorised to erect the preaching
station at Eday into a congregation, and in July 1833 this was found to
have been done, and two elders ordained, the total membership being 86.
A church, with 300 sittings, had been built two years before. Without delay
the congregation called Mr John Inglis, afterwards of Blackswell, Hamilton,
but he promptly declined. The stipend promised, with the aid of ^20 from
the Synod Fund, was ^75, along with house, glebe, and sacramental expenses.
In April 1834 a call was sustained to Mr George Deans, which was also
rejected, and Portobello became his destination. But about this time a
missionary was sent by a committee of the Established Church to labour
in Eday, and the Presbytery had to report that in the altered circumstances
it was doubtful whether the young congregation could expect an early
settlement.
The people, however, pressed forward, and in . October of that year they
made choice of Mr William M'Queen, afterwards of Pathstruie, and in April
183s of Mr Alexander M'Gregor, afterwards of Kilwinning; but probationers
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 505
might be less willing now than before to face the situation, and the end was
a double disappointment. A location of the kev. Adam U. Gillon, formerly
of Newcastle (Carliol Street) was then secured, but he left at the end of six
months, and his sojourn in Eday did the cause no good.*
Ftrsi Mmis/er.--] AMES Ingram, M.A., from Aberdeen (George Street).
Called in 1837, but did not see his way to accept. After a brief location
later on the offer was renewed, and the call signed by 102 members and
41 adherents. The ordination took place, 26th March 1839. "The day
was fine, the church was full, and the services were solemn and impressive."
At the first communion under Mr Ingram the accessions were considerable,
making up the whole membership to 160. One serious drawback was the
distance of the minister's residence from the place of worship, necessitating
the erection of a suitably situated manse. This again involved the people
m a debt of ^235, of which ^100 was liquidated next year, the Board allow-
ing one half In 1858, very much through Mr Ingram's exertions, a new
and much more comfortable church was built, and quiet work went on, the
cause of Gospel Temperance being also steadily and successfully upheld.
Mr Ingram died after a few hours' illness on 8th October 1887, in the
seventy-eighth year of his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. Like Mr
Taylor of Stronsay, he married a daughter of the enterprising farmer
referred to in that connection, but in his case the relationship entailed no
disabilities. In his family history, however, there was one distressing
mcident. A son of his, who was home from Edinburgh as a newly-qualified
chemist, in attempting to rescue a drowning man, was himself washed away
into the wide, rough sea. A daughter is the wife of the Rev. James West-
water, E.P. minister at Blyth, Northumberland.
Second Mim's^er.— Thomas R. Mackay, from Queensferry. Ordained,
19th September 1888. The manse had now passed into the hands of the
proprietor, but by the advice of the Presbytery it was secured for nineteen
years by the congregation at a rent of ^^14, all repairs or improvements to
be executed at their own expense. Mr Mackav was loosed, 24th July 1891,
on accepting a call to the E.P. Church, Victor Street, Grimsby. The
population of Eday had decreased to 700 now, and the membership at the
close of the preceding year was 166, the stipend from the people being
£46, IDS.
TAin/ Mimster.— Robert G. Hunter, M.A., from Newport-on-Tay.
Ordained, 5th October 1892, and loosed, 25th April 1898, on accepting a call
to Leslie (West). A membership of 182 was given in the previous return,
and the stipend from the people had risen to ;^7o.
Four/A Minister.— ] AUKS Mackay, M.A., from Queensferry, an elder
* Adam D. Gillon was from Linlithgow (West). Having declined Sandav he
was ordained colleague to the Rev. John Smith, Sallyport, Newcastle, 4th September
1822. A young minister, it was hoped, would get the congregation out of its
embarrassments, but this hope not being realised Mr Gillon resigned, and in
September 1828 the Synod, "understanding that he demitted his charj^e solely
because the congregation is unable to support him," added his name to the list of
probationers. In that capacity he was located at Eday, but a report of improprieties
on his part brought the engagement to an end. In June 1839 the Syno<l continued
liim under sentence of suspension on account of his exceedingly imprudent intercourse
with a young woman who served in the house where he lodged, holding private
meetings with her on Sabbath. In 1840 he withdrew from connection with the
Secession, and joined the Baptists. Dr George Brown states further that he next
became a Roman Catholic priest, but recanted on his death-bed, which, however,
was not at Liverpool, as he supposed. This appears from the following announce-
ment in the Ar/Zw^r^ :— " Died here [Edinburghl, 3ist Octolier 1844, the Rev. A.
Dawson Gillon, several years minister of Carliol Street, Newcastle."
5o6
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
brother of their last minister's predecessor. Mr Mackay had been located in
Orkney for some years, first at Rendall and then at Egilshay. He now
very befittingly became the minister of a regular charge. Ordained, 21st
December 1898. The population is still on the decline, but the stipend
keeps as before.
BURRAY (United Presbyterian)
This island is separated from South Ronaldshay by a sound little more
than half-a-mile in breadth at its narrowest point. On 25th April 1855 the
Presbytery of Orkney disjoined 60 members and 60 adherents from South
Ronaldshay, with the entire approval of their minister and session, and
formed them into a distinct congregation. Subscriptions were now begun,
and on 13th July 1856 a church, with accommodation for 180, and built at
a cost of ^300, was opened. In April 1857 a moderation was applied for.
The people expected to raise ^60, with assistance from friends, and they
were to receive ^40 from the Mission Board, and a manse was also to be
provided. The call, signed by 66 members and 57 adherents, came out in
favour of Mr David Mair, M.A.,* but was declined. In August 1858 they
called Mr John Squair, who also declined, and was ordained at Wigtown
soon after. The population of the island was under 800.
First Minister. — Robert S. Paterson, from Glasgow (Renfield Street).
Ordained, 20th April 1859. Finding Burray a very limited field he offered
himself to the Colonial Committee for an appointment to New South Wales,
and was loosed from his charge, nth August 1863. There in June 1864
he became minister at Byrmont, where, after labouring thirty-six years, he
retired, and was placed as an annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers'
Fund in 1900, being then in his seventy-fifth year.
Second Minister. — Adam B. Rogerson, from Glasgow (Gillespie
Church). Ordained, 17th October 1865. The Presbytery, as before, were
to raise ^20 a year to make up the people's part of the stipend to ^60, and
there was to be a supplement of ^40. The call was signed by 107 members
and 60 adherents. After being nearly ten years in Burray Mr Rogerson
accepted a call to Banff, and was loosed, 5th October 1875.
Third Minister.— ^WAAfM. B. Melville, from Stronsay. Mr Melville
had been ordained to Barrow-in-Furness, a new congregation, 25th August
1868. Ten months afterwards he required to demit his charge, and for five
years taught a private academy in Dalkeith, during four of which he was
constantly engaged as pulpit supply. His name having been restored to
the preachers' list in 1875 he was inducted to Burray, 9th May of the
following year. Called to Shapinshay in 1878, and to Fraserburgh in 1879,
and finally to Busby, which he accepted, 4th February 1884. Within three
months the congregation called Mr A. Miller Marshall, but he declined,
and was ordained at Newarthill.
Fourth Minister. — Thomas D. Macnee, from Old Kilpatrick. Ordained,
5th February 1885, and loosed, 20th July 1887, on accepting a call to Wester
* Mr Mair was from Kirriemuir (Bank Street), and was ordained at Killaig,
Ireland, on 9th August i860. He died there on 25th October 1895, in the seventy-
third year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. He preached on Sabbath, but,
having caught a chill on Monday, he passed away on the following Friday. Mr Mair's
son, of the same name, but a B.A. , entered the Theological Hall the previous week,
and the people resolved to keep the pulpit open till he should he ready to take his
father's place. He was accordingly ordained at Killaig, 2nd November 1898.
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 507
Pardovan. The membership at this time was between 1 10 and 120, at which
it continued for the next seven years.
Fifth Af/m's/er.—GKORGK Johnston, from North Leith. Ordained,
7th P'ebruary 1888, and loosed, 24th June 1891, on accepting a call to
Victoria Road, Kirkcaldy. This introduced a break of a year and a half
owing to some difficulty with the Supplementing Board, which was happily
surmounted.
Stx//i Mtmster.~]on^ D. M'Cubbin, from Barrhead. Ordained, nth
January 1893. In little more than a year the Presbytery had trouble from
Burray, as if vague rumours had been struggling to get breath, but they
were evaded on the ground of the accuser being under scandal. None the
less, it was patent that both the attendance and the funds were falling off,
an ominous matter in that little island, in which there was an Established
church to compete with. On 20th July 1894 Mr M'Cubbin was loosed
from his charge and suspended from office, having been convicted of
contracting an irregular marriage when residing in London before entering
on his probationer life. On 7th May 1896 Orkney Presbytery, after com-
municating with the Presbytery of Edinburgh, within whose bounds he had
been residing, removed the sentence of suspension, and the Synod in May
1898 placed his name on the probationer list, where it was when the Union
came.
Seventh Minister. — David S. Brown, M.A., from Lauriston Place,
Edinburgh. Had been previously called to Holywell, in Cumberland, and
also to Fala ; but in the latter case there was want of harmony, and Mr
Brown surrendered his rights rather than imperil the fortunes of a much
reduced congregation. Ordained at Burray, 8th September 1896. The
communion roll was now down to 84, and the stipend from the people to
^45, and in both figures there was a slight reduction at the date of the
Union.
ROUSAY (United Secession)
This island lies nine miles north-west of Kirkwall, but at one point it is
separated from the mainland of Orkney by a sound only a mile and a half
broad. Along with Egilshay and two smaller islands it forms a parish
which in 1831 had a population of 1262. In the Journal of the Haldanes in
1798 it is stated that their minister had been entirely disabled from preaching
for six or seven years, and had never provided a helper. The people met
in the church on the Sabbath, and had sermons read to them by the pro-
prietor of the island. One of the evangelists went over and preached to
upwards of 300 people, and as he spoke of their destitute situation the
whole congregation seemed deeply affected, and some of them wept aloud.
He lodged, by invitation, at the parish manse, but on arriving he found the
minister near his end, and he died that night. Next Sabbath the lay
preacher had upwards of 400 hearing him in Egilshay, to whom he applied
the solemn event. The Secession congregation in Kirkwall was now telling
for good throughout Orkney, and numbers from Rousay were drawn into
its membership, though a stretch of waters lay between.
In the beginning of 1833 the members of Kirkwall congregation residing
in Rousay and Egilshay applied to their session for advice about going
forward with the building of a church, and they were encouraged to proceed
if they felt able to face such an undertaking. In September of that year
they received ^20 from the Synod Fund, and at next Synod, in April 1834,
the Presbytery of Orkney was authorised to erect them into a congregation.
In September following they got the promise of ^30 for three years in the
5o8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
event of obtaining a minister, and immediately after this Kirkwall con-
gregation aided them in the erecting of their meeting-house by a grant of
15 guineas in addition to subscriptions taken up privately. They now
called Mr William B. Borwick ; but though they had Orcadian affinities to
favour them Mr Borwick declined, and soon after obtained Bell Street,
Dundee. There were now nearly three years of waiting on before another
attempt of the kind was made.
First Mmister. — JOHN M'Lellan, from Wigtown. Ordained, ist
November 1837. In view of a settlement the Sabbath attendance improved
considerably, and with the aid of ^50 from the Liquidation Fund the debt
on the building was reduced to a slight figure. Revival influence came in
soon after to stir into blissful activity. In 1843 there ^^^s a membership of
170 and an attendance of about 250. The mother congregation in Kirkwall
still stood by, and voted year by year a sum of at least ^10 to help the
funds at Rousay. Religious meetings were also kept up at Egilshay, an island
severed from Rousay by a sound of a mile's breadth. There a hall had been
fitted up for worship through the kindness of the proprietor. In 1855
Mr M'Lellan accepted an appointment to Canada from the Mission Board,
but, the congregation being in earnest to retain him, he agreed to remain.
There was a membership now of 193, and the people contributed for stipend
^55. On 24th November 1874 Mr M'Lellan's resignation was accepted,
and after some special inquiry he was admitted to the benefit of the .4ged
and Infirm Ministers' Fund, the Presbytery testifying to the good work he
had carried on in Rousay during a long period of years. He died near Edin-
burgh on 23rd June 1885, in his eightieth year, leaving a son-in-law in the
ministry of our church, the Rev. Alexander Wither of Cabrach.
Second Minister. — Alexander Allardyce, from Campsie. Ordained,
14th March 1876. The membership at this time was fully 200, and con-
tinued much the same during Mr Allardyce's brief ministry of six years.
He died, 2nd May 1882, in the fortieth year of his age. In the minutes of
Presbytery there is a tribute paid to the assiduity, zeal, and great acceptance
with which he laboured in Rousay. Before the year ended the congregation
called Mr William Yule, who preferred Baillieston. This call was signed
by 184 members and 84 adherents.
Third Minister. — Alexander Irvine Pirie, who had been ordained
over the Congregational Church, Kirkwall, 9th November 1873. Mr Pirie
was received into the ministry of the U.P. Church by the Synod in May
1883, having been warmly recommended by the Presbytery of Orkney.
Inducted into Rousay, 17th July thereafter. The population of the island
has decreased considerably since then, so that the membership of the
congregation at the Union was but slightly over 160, and the stipend from
the f>eople ^50, with the manse.
FIRTH (United Secession)
In the summer of 1835 a mission station was opened at Firth, a place about
six miles from Kirkwall, on the road to Stromness. In the parish there were
about a dozen families connected with the congregation of Kirkwall, and
several in neighbouring parishes. The people were fortunate in obtaining
almost at the first a location of Mr William Jameson for three months, and
before that period was expired he agreed to continue with them during the
winter. Then a voice came from Jamaica, and Mr Jameson obeyed. " It
is believed there was scarcely a dry eye in the district when his resolution to
PRESBYTERY OF ORKNEY 509
leave them was made known." In 1837, the place in which they now met
being found utterly inadequate, they proceeded with the building of a
church to accommodate 370, the congregation having already raised ^60 or
;^7o to meet the outlay, and the Synod allowing them a grant of ^20. It
was to the mother church in Kirkwall, however, that they mainly looked for
aid, and that congregation one year expended ^^70 on Firth, besides
ministering to the necessities of other churches in Orkney. After this the
young cause sank into a spiritless state, and it seemed doubtful whether it
would ever reach a fixed ministry at all. The constant change of supply
must have told unfavourably, but under a brief location of Mr Alexander
Miller, who was ordained soon after at South Ronaldshay, there were tokens
of reviving, and in 1845 the members were disjoined from Kirkwall and
erected into a congregation.
First Mtms/er.^ROBKRT Reid, from Limekilns. Ordained, 19th
November 1845, having wisely declined a call to the Secession Church,
Campbeltown, Argyleshire, two months before. At this time Firth had a
membership of 80, and the people were to contribute a stipend of ^40,
which the Board made up to ^90, besides the manse. Within four years
the membership was doubled, but the stipend remained as before. The
writer is old enough to remember hearing Mr Reid vvhen a preacher, and
being struck with his pulpit power. To him it seemed strange that Firth, in
Orkney, should be the destination of such a man, unless there were draw-
backs of another kind. After Mr Reid's ministry of forty-seven years came
to an end the Presbytery entered in their records the following estimate of
his merits : — " He was a man of considerable talent and pronounced char-
acteristics, of extensive theological learning, great readiness and eloquence
of utterance, and profound convictions of the truth of the gospel. He was a
preacher who was welcomed throughout the whole of the Islands." He
died, loth February 1893, in the seventy-seventh year of his age.
Second Minister. — Alexander S. Berrie, from Earlston (£ast).
Ordained, 27th September 1893. The membership at this time was 131, and
the stipend from the people was ^70, with the manse. During the vacancy it
was felt that a sum of not less than ^250 would require to be laid out on the
property ; but it was agreed to make the manse comfortable in the meantime,
and instead of repairing the church to set about securing a site for a new
erection — work in which no progress was made for years. On 8th February
1897 Mr Berrie accepted a call to Arthur's Hill, Newcastle, and was loosed
from his charge, leaving a membership of 148.
Third Minister. — John G. T.wlor, M.A., from Princes Street, Arbroath.
Ordained, i6th September 1897. There was now a unanimous wish on the
part of the congregation to have a new church built, the other having served
Us day. The cost was estimated at ^800, and from their own limited
resources they hoped to raise ^140. Union with the Free Church congre-
gation was looked on as very desirable, but the Presbytery, like the two
ministers, were of opinion that any attempt to push the matter at that time
would only do harm. Still, with amalgamation in prospect, it was decided
to provide accommodation ample enough to serve both congregations, and a
joint-committee was appointed to overlook and adjust the plans. In March
1900 Mr Taylor intimated that a site had been obtained at last, but owing
to the enlargement arranged for and the increased price of material the
entire cost would not be under ^1200. At the final meeting of Presbytery
before the Union application was made to the Board for a grant of ^400
instead of ^300, which, with ^250 raised by the minister, and j/^ioo con-
tributed by the congregation, would make ^^750 in all. Thus the matter
stood at that important landmark. The membership at the time was about
Sio HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
140, and the stipend from the people ^70, with a manse, as it had long been.
In the Free Church the numbers were about a dozen higher, and the total
income was slightly under ^80.
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY
BURNTSHIELDS (Burgher)
The church of Burntshields stood on the heights about a mile to the west
or south-west of Kilbarchan, which was the scene of an unpopular settle-
ment on 13th September 1739. There was a similar intrusion two years
before into the parish of Kilmalcolm, and from the latter of these parishes
came an accession to the Associate Presbytery in July 1738, and from the
former in July 1739. The Seceders in Kilbarchan are entered as "a
numerous body of people," and had the ascendency from the first. The
congregation in those days stretched southwards to Kilbirnie and Beith, and
westwards to Greenock and Inverkip. The first time they were visited by
members of the Associate Presbytery was on the last Sabbath of August
1738, when Messrs Thomson of Burntisland and Moncrieflf of Abernethy
preached at a farm near Kilmalcolm. Preachers and ministers followed as
circumstances could afford. In May 1740 the acceders in this locality began
to insist on a hearing of young men with a view to a moderation, but their
design was not gained till other four years had passed.
First Minister. — John M'Ara, who seems to have been a native of the
Highlands, as the Synod in 1742 recommended him to reside in the north
for the recovery of the Gaelic language. Ordained, 12th September 1744.
The call was from Kilmalcolm, Kilbarchan, and Greenock, and the ordina-
tion was appointed to take place at " Bronchhill." There a church, with
accommodation for 600, was taken possession of in the following year. But
already there were virtually two congregations, the seceding families from
about Greenock and the far west having built a second place of worship,
with Mr M'Ara to preach to them every third Sabbath. A letter preserved
by Dr M'Kelvie shows that there was jealousy between the eastern and
western divisions of the congregation so early as 1740, each standing out
for their full share of the limited supplies, with the forecasting of a parting
asunder. Union could not be permanently maintained across a distance of
twelve or fourteen miles, and accordingly in the beginning of 1751 they
were in ripeness for being disjoined, and from this time Mr M'Ara's labours
were limited to the Burntshields community.
A record of the numbers that took part in the first communion observance
at Burntshields, in May 1746, shows that of these Kilbarchan furnished 80,
Lochwinnoch 50, Paisley 47, Kilmalcolm 32, Houston 20, and 12 were from
other parishes. The western division again, including Greenock, Port-
Glasgow, and Inverkip, furnished 69 — making 310 in all. This gives us the
Correspondence of Burntshields and Greenock in its strength as well as in
its ramifications. In the summer of 1756 we have a specimen of Presbyterial
visitations in early Secession times. In the first instance Mr M'Ara
preached a discourse which was accepted by the Presbytery as "a very
good specimen of his orthodoxy in the faith, and application to study." It
was also taken as evidence that he treated his subjects in a way adapted
to the edification of his people, and the same was duly intimated to him
in presence of the congregation. Minister, elders, and people were then
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 511
taken separately, and questioned as to their satisfaction or dissatisfaction
with each other. In one Presbytery we find inquiry made on such an
occasion as to whether the minister preached a catechetical discourse every
Sabbath, whether the elders were attentive to the visitation of their districts,
and whether the people gave regular attendance on public worship, and
were attentive to family duties. The wish was to remove abuses, and set
in order the things that were wanting. In the case of Burntshields there
was found to be a deficiency in the payment of stipend, but the Presbytery
rested in the promise of the managers that arrears would soon be paid up
and in the bringing forward of a feasible scheme to that effect. The minister
on his part signified that recently some of the elders had given him grounds
of offence, and that several of the congregation did not keep up due attend-
ance upon ordinances. Exhortations followed from the chair to the parties
concerned, but inquiry as to Mr M'Ara's complaint against some of the
elders was held in reserve.
At next meeting of Presbytery a paper, drawn up by Mr David Smith,
a student of divinity, and afterwards minister in St Andrews, was dealt
with. He alleged that he was prompted by certain elders to act the part
he did in formulating five distinct charges against Mr M'Ara. The first
was that their minister concerned himself too much with secular affairs,
frequently digging and quarrying stones, and was observed ofttimes to be
very little in the house even on Saturdays, besides frequenting public
markets, and that these things tended to alienate the affections of the
people both from him and from the Secession cause. Second, As for
Sabbath work, public worship was usually put off till after eleven o'clock,
making it inconvenient for the people getting home in the winter season.
Third, Pastoral visitation and attention to the sick were much neglected,
which was the less excusable, as the congregation was not very far scattered,
the greatest distance, except in a very few cases, not exceeding five miles.
Fourth, The minister, when spoken to on such matters, gave way to
temper, so that they had to desist from further interference. Last of all,
he was not at due pains to promote harmony among his people or to study
the things that make for peace. It was a heavy indictment ; but the elders
who signed the paper resiled, and gave in a written acknowledgment to the
effect that several of the charges they found to be false, and all of them
groundless as laid. Mr Smith was now taken sharply to task. At first he
affirmed that he had the authority of trustworthy people for believing the
articles of accusation to be well founded, but after protracted dealings
with him he confessed the " heinously aggravated sin " of inventing several
manifest falsehoods in the paper given in to the Presbytery. At a subse-
quent meeting the case was terminated, with the resolve to administer rebuke
to Mr Smith in the face of Burntshields congregation.
Scarcely was this affair got over when a call to Mr M'Ara was announced
from Kennoway. A change might have been advantageous for all parties,
but a representation was given in from Burntshields, with about 120 sub-
scribers, testifying the greatest affection for their pastor, and expressing
their fear that the congregation would be ruined if he were transported.
Appealed to in this way the Synod in September 1757 vetoed the transla-
tion. Mr M'Ara in a few years got deeply involved in the Stirling conten-
tions, resisting the settlement of Mr Robert Campbell at every point, and
after the will of the majority prevailed he even went through and preached
to the malcontents. But by this time matters of offence pronounced ground-
less ten years before had taken shape anew, and were not to be got rid of
this time. Tersely put, the indictment ran thus : that " Mr M'Ara mounted
the roof of the house and mended the thatch ; that he repaired the fences
512 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of his little farm ; that he quarried stones when he needed them ; and that
he could be seen between the stilts of the plough." His people, perhaps,
forgot that with a stipend of only ^50 he might reqjuire to help his income
by the cultivation of the ground. Brought before the Presbytery he met
the charges in a good spirit, admitted that he had given himself too much
to secularities, and promised amendment. In the minutes there is also
reference to entanglement with the affairs of Mr John Kirkwood, a former
elder of his, by whose will, as stated by Dr M'Kelvie, he had gained sub-
stantial benefit. But the alienation of the people was not to be overcome,
and the Synod on 28th August 1767 declared the charges against him so
far made good that, after rebuking him, they loosed him from Burntshields,
as " it was not for edification to continue the connection." He then removed
to Stirling, possibly in the hope that the dissatisfied party in the Back Row
Chiirch would rally around him, and form a congregation outside the Burgher
connection. He died there on 4th September 1769, in the twenty-fifth year
of his ministerial life.
Burntshields congregation had now to face a vacancy of nearly six years,
and a struggle with straitened means besides. The arrears of stipend due
Mr M'Ara amounted to ^129, but these seem to have been incurred less
from inability to pay than from the resolve to have the relationship ter-
minated. Of this sum ^58 was paid down to the Presbytery on 27th
August 1766, and the remainder was to follow. Now the congregation first
called Mr John Baillie, whom the Synod appointed to Newcastle (afterwards
Barras Bridge), where he acquired notoriety. {See Crieff, Relief) Then
after a delay of two years they called Mr William Fletcher, who had already
a divided call from Glasgow, with a large minority in strong antagonism.
The Synod in these circumstances gave Burntshields the preference ; but
Mr Fletcher refused to be settled there, and when the Presbytery fixed the
ordination day he protested, which led the congregation to intimate at next
meeting that they had agreed to drop their call, and Doune became his
destination.
Second Minister. — John Lindsay, from Cambusnethan. Ordained, 14th
April 1773. The stipend promised was ^55, with the manse and a piece of
ground. The Presbytery gave it as their opinion that the glebe ought to
be large enough to keep a horse and a cow, though in view of past experi-
ences the people might have questioned the expediency of allowing the
minister a glebe at all. On nth October 1791 the congregation of Burnt-
shields. met, several ministers being present to guide their deHberations.
It was then and there resolved, in the interests of the gospel and for the
convenience of members, to divide into three separate congregations, with
places of worship at Burntshields, Johnstone, and Lochwinnoch ; that their
minister should remove to Johnstone, where there was the best prospect of
increase ; that the meeting-house, manse, and glebe should remain the
undivided property of the Burntshields branch ; and that, as the congrega-
tion assembling there was sure to be much weakened, they should be
commended to the tender care of Glasgow Presbytery. The arrangement
having been duly sanctioned Burntshields became vacant on the first
Sabbath of February 1792.
Third Minister. — David S. Wylie, from Kilmarnock (now Portland
Road). Ordained, 19th March 1793. The call was signed by 214 members.
On 1 8th February 1796 the Burgher Presbytery of Kilmarnock met at
Saltcoats for the ordination of Mr Henry Fraser, but Mr Wylie, who was
to have presided, had in a letter renouncing connection with the Secession
Church. At next meeting, on 1 5th March, the committee appointed to converse
with him reported, that though dealt with at considerable length, he could not
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 513
be prevailed on to withdraw his decHnature, and it was agreed simply to
declare him no longer " in our communion." In a letter written a fortnight
after this his former professor in Selkirk adverted to Mr Wylie's case as
follows : — " He was a young man for whom I entertained, and still entertain,
a high esteem. I hope he won't be left to revolt from the doctrine of the
gospel. God preserve us from mistaking our path in these days of clouds
and thick darkness." Opposed, it is said, to the swearing of the Covenants,
he had gone over to Independency, and some people in Paisley hearing
that the minister of Burntshields sympathised with their tenets invited him
to be their pastor. In the Rev. James Ross' History this is given as the
origin of the Independent church in Paisley. Two years after betaking him-
self to this new connection Mr Wylie published a volume, still to be met with,
entitled " Christ and Anti-Christ Displayed ; or, a Dissertation on Christ's
Kingdom," in which his views on the constitution of the Christian Church
are set forth with much vigour. But, as has often happened in such cases,
the author went on to Baptist views, and after a short ministry in Paisley
he removed to Liverpool, where he became the pastor of a Baptist church
and the head of a Classical Academy. About the year 1812 he came into
conflict with the Rev. John Stewart, the founder of Mount Pleasant Church,
Liverpool, on the Baptist question, and published a pamphlet in reply to
a letter of Mr Stewart's on that subject. Mr Wylie died, 6th August 1856,
in the eighty-si.xth year of his age and sixty-fourth of his ministry.
After being vacant for a year Burntshields congregation called the Rev.
William Willis of Greenock, the stipend promised being ^70, with manse
and garden, but Glasgow Presbytery disallowed the transition, and the
people before obtaining another minister were to pass through years
of convulsion. They got early into the very heart of the Old Light
struggle, the majority making common cause with the little party of which
Mr Willis was the leader. The proposal to modify the Burgher Formula
was no sooner launched than most of the elders, with the body of the people
at their back, assumed an attitude of resistance to Kilmarnock Presbytery.
In August 1798 they had papers forward to be sent on to the Synod, and
one of the ministers was appointed to preach at Burntshields, and constitute
the session, that these documents might be transmitted in the regular way.
All was got quietly over at this time, but it was otherwise a few months
after. Another meeting was to be held in Burntshields manse on 25th
February 1799, and Mr Schaw, then of Lochwinnoch, was appointed by the
Presbytery to preside. The hour came, and two elders appeared, who
declared they would not allow him to constitute the session, as he was of dif-
ferent principles from them, neither would they have preaching imposed upon
them. A friendly elder subsequently came forward, but for want of a quorum
there could be nothing done, and Mr Schaw "did not think it proper to
engage in prayer in the midst of confusion and determined opposition."
These things being reported to the Presbytery on 7th March, they pro-
nounced sentence of deposition on the two refractory elders, and declared
all who should adhere to them out of communion with the Associate
Synod.
The Rev. William Willis of Greenock in his pamphlet, entitled " Little
Naphtali," goes into all the particulars. He dwells on the " apostacy of the
Synod from their principles" and on "their sinful and treacherous conduct."
They had, however, upwards of 30 members in Burntshields congregation
on their side, and this led to troublesome complications. The Presbytery
of Kilmarnock on petition sent a preacher to supply Burntshields pulpit on
a particular Sabbath, but Mr Willis was forward at the request of the other
party to perform the same service. The Greenock minister, by his own
II. 2 K
514 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
account, dealt very faithfully with the leader on the other side, telling him
"he would, perhaps, find he was planting thorns around the pillow of
his own death-bed." This was late on Saturday evening, and next morning
Mr Willis took possession of the pulpit, and though the Presbytery's
nominee came to the place of worship he did not enter, but walked off with
a few of his adherents. Mr Willis and another minister had given in their
declinature to the Synod the week before, and on the following Monday
Burntshields congregation met, and agreed to adhere to said declinature
They thus came under the inspection of the Old Light Presbytery, and, said
Mr Willis, " they now enjoy the ordinances of the gospel in their Scriptural
purity and simplicity, and are delivered from the unfeeling persecution and
heretical sentiments of apostates." On 12th November the minority asked
the Presbytery's advice as to legal proceedings about the property, but the
case seems to have proved hopeless, as the body of the congregation
retained undisturbed possession.
Their first minister under the new Presbytery was Alexander Brown, from
Shotts. Ordained, 20th October 1801. The call was signed by 1 13 members,
and the stipend was ^60, with house and garden. The families who had
left never attempted to set up an opposition cause, but would have to
amalgamate with their former brethren at Johnstone or Lochwinnoch, and
to make up for the defection a number came in from Johnstone to supply
their place. Mr Brown died, 25th February 1819, and in the Gazetteer of
Scotland for 1845 there is the following note: — "The Rev. Alexander
Brown, minister of the church of Burntshields, left instructions that his body
should be buried within that edifice, which was accordingly done. The
church was afterwards sold and converted into a byre and a barn, an act of
desecration which the good man could not have contemplated." This was in
1826, when the congregation removed to Bridge of Weir. In 1859 the
building was taken down, and the grave, which was where the communion
table stood, is now scarcely, if at all, distinguishable. The next minister was
Mr Wm. Scott-Hay, from Paisley, who had passed over to the Old Light
Synod when a divinity student. Ordained, 20th March 1821. The members
signing the call were down now to 82, but the stipend was ^5 higher than
before. The minister and congregation of Burntshields entered the Church
of Scotland in 1839, and withdrew at the Disruption in 1843. Mr Scott-Hay
retired some time after, and became Free Church minister at Midmar, where
he died, 15th December 1851, in the fifty-third year of his age and thirty-first
of his ministry.
During the next twenty-two years Bridge of Weir congregation had four '
ministers, one of them being afterwards Principal Douglas of the Free
Church College, Glasgow. At the Union in 1900, when the distinction
between Old and New Lights had been long forgotten, and charges of
apostasy were turned into empty echoes, this congregation had a member
ship of over 200, and the stipend was ^230, with a manse.
PAISLEY, OAKSHAW STREET (Antiburgher)
At the commencement of the Secession Paisley was privileged with an
earnest, evangelical ministry throughout, and it was from the neighbouring
parish of Neilston that the first adherents in that locality were drawn. Drj
M'Kelvie, indeed, speaks of three elders in the Abbey Church having been!
suspended in 1738 for refusing to submit to the ministry of a Mr M'Vey, whoj
had been intruded upon that parish, and that in these circumstances theyl
sought and found connection with the Associate Presbytery. It happens,!
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 515
however, that Mr M'Vey was intruded into Mearns, not into Paisley, and it
was to the parish of Mearns that these elders belonged. It was not till 17th
October 1739 that an accession from several persons in Paisley was given in
to the Associate Presbytery. They united with others in Neilston, and, like
them, they were annexed to the forming congregation at Mearns. On 2nd
January 1745 some Praying Societies in Paisley craved to be disjoined from
Mearns and annexed to Burntshields, which was more convenient, and on
25th June the Presbytery granted the transference. At the Breach two years
afterwards, when the greater part of Burntshields congregation with their
minister adhered to the Burgher party, those who took the Antiburgher side
would have to resume connection with Mearns, which was distant eight
miles. This was an arrangement that could not last, and accordingly on
4th March 175 1 Mr Thomson of Mearns met in session with two elders in
Paisley, which betokens the time when Oakshaw Street congregation was
organised. In April 1752 it was agreed to have an election of two elders
and two deacons for Paisley, two elders and one deacon for Greenock, and
one deacon for Houston, the Praying Societies to prepare the leet. In the
records of this period there is mention also of Linwood, Kilbarchan, Erskine,
Lochwinnoch, and Beith as places from which members were drawn.
First Minister. — J.\MES Alice, from Alloa (now Townhead). The call
was signed by 75 (male) members, and 13 others who were necessarily absent
sent up their names. Mr Alice was ordained as minister of the united con-
gregation of Paisley and Greenock, 21st September 1756. On 30th October
1759 the Greenock section was disjoined and formed into a separate con-
gregation, as is more fully stated under the proper heading. In 1762 Paisley
people built their first church, but we can say nothing about either its cost
or its dimensions. From the session records of that early period we extract
a reference to dealings with a member of the church who had taken the
Mason Oath. This person related that during the ceremony he bent on his
knee with a book between his hands, but whether it was the Bible he could
not say, as he was blindfolded at the time. When the napkin was removed
the first thing he saw was three candles, which he was told represented the
sun, the moon, and the master mason — the three great lights. The verse in
I Kings, 7th chapter, was read to him about the setting up of two pillars in
the porch of the temple, the one called Jachin and the other Boaz. Some
signs were made by a man's arm for want of a compass, and he had to take
an oath before knowing its terms or purport. He was also stripped of all
metal kind, and a square was applied to his breast, and was put three times
round him. He had to bend on the ground all the while with uncovered
knee, his bare elbow resting on the Bible. Such was the senseless mummery,
edged with profanity, which our fathers set themselves to put down by
admonition and rebuke. Can we greatly blame them when all is known?
In 1781 the church required enlargement, and in December 1784 it was
unanimously agreed at a congregational meeting to take steps for providing
Mr Alice with a colleague, but two years passed without any progress being
made. At that time there was the wish to have a further hearing of Mr
James Muckersie, afterwards of Alloa, but when the moderation day came
another was proposed and carried without a division. The stipend of the
junior colleague was to be ^70 for the time.
Second Minister.— "^WAAKyi Ferrier, from Perth (North). The call
■was signed by 226 (male) members, which bespeaks a large congregation.
Mr Ferrier was ordained, 28th August 1787. The collegiate relation lasted
nearly eleven years, and was ended with the sudden death of Mr Alice on
loth June 179B, in the sixty-seventh year of his age and forty-second of his
ministry. He was on his way to join his family at the seaside, and went
5i6 HISTORr OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to spend the Sabbath at Beith, in Mr Mitchell's manse, whose wife was a
sister of his, but in the morning he was found dead in bed. The remarkable
sermon preached by his colleague on the following Sabbath from the text : —
" My father, my father, the chariot of Israel and the horsemen thereof,"
appears among Dr Ferrier's " Remains." Regarding the relation between
him and Mr Alice, the preacher testified that it was a union of which the
harmony was never for a moment interrupted, and that in publishing the
sermon he was only " erecting his frail memorial in honour of a person so
highly venerated by him, and of a character than which none could suffer
less or gain more by a just display."
In 1818 the stipend was ^200, with the manse, and next year the mem-
bership numbered 450. In 1822 Mr Ferrier had the degree of D.D. from
Princeton College, and in 1826 a new church, with 954 sittings, was built on
the old site, at a cost of fully ^4000, for which ^1500 had been already
contributed, in addition to meeting a debt of .2^500. In 1832 the congrega-
tion issued a belated call to Mr John Robson to be Dr Ferrier's colleague,
but he was appointed to Lasswade by the Synod.
Third Minister. — William France, son of the Rev. James France of
Moniaive. Called also to Cupar (Bonnygate), and to Dunfermline (Chalmers
Street), but having expressed a preference for Paisley he was sent thither
without a vote. Ordained, 2nd July 1833. The stipend was to be ^120,
with sacramental and travelling expenses, and the call was signed by 324
members and 130 adherents. The senior minister never preached after
this, and he died, 20th December 1835, i" the seventy-third year of his age
and forty-ninth of his ministry. Dr Ferrier's wife was Isabella Muckersie,.
a daughter of the Rev. John Muckersie of Kinkell, and a granddaughter
of the Rev. William Wilson of Perth. He left a son in the ministry of the
Secession Church, the Rev. Andrew Ferrier, then of Newarthill, and a son-
in-law, the Rev. John Bruce of Newmilns. In 1841 his Life was published
by his son, with a few of his sermons appended. In the beginning of the
century Dr Ferrier repHed to Ramsay's " Flight from Persecution," in
a pamphlet wnich, though dignified and reasonable, was little better than
labour thrown away on an opponent so perverse and abusive. In Dr
Ferrier's death the United Secession Synod was said to have lost one of
its ablest men.
In the fifth year of Mr France's ministry the membership of Oakshaw
Street was returned at 440. The stipend was £170, with the manse, and
the debt on the property was over ;^26oo. This burden was reduced ^1400-
in 1845 by a special effort. Mr France occupied the Moderator's chair at
the Synod of 1877, and soon afterwards a colleague was required. In 1879
the congregation called Mr Matthew Dickie, who preferred Sanquhar
(South).
Fourth Miftister. — John Porteous, B.D., from Dalkeith (now Buccleuch
Street). Ordained, 13th April 1880, and became sole pastor in little more
than a year, Mr France having died, 20th April 1881, in the seventy-second
year of his age and forty-eighth of his ministry. Mrs France was a daughter
of the Rev^ William MacEwen of Howgate, and a sister of Dr Alexander
MacEwen, Claremont Church, Glasgow. The membership of Oakshaw
Street Church at the close of 1899 was 311, and the stipend was £270, with
the manse.
PAISLEY, ABBEY CLOSE (Burgher)
On 30th June 1766 a petition to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow from
parties residing in the Abbey parish of Paisley bore that, though they did
I
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 517
not see it to be their duty to break with the better part of the Established
Church, they were dissatisfied both with the principles and the practices of
the prevailing party therein, and craved some supply of preaching as a
means of perpetuating the gospel to posterity. Sermon having been granted
them for two Sabbaths, Mr M'Ara, the minister of Burntshields, complained
at next meeting that hjs bounds had been encroached on owing to "a slight
call from a few not of our communion." None the less, applications were
regularly renewed from people in the Abbey parish of Paisley, and supplies
granted them about once a' month. On 21st March 1769 the Burgher
families in Paisley applied to be disjoined from Burntshields, six miles
distant, that they might identify themselves with the new cause, and though
the session stood in the way the disjunction was granted. That year the
first church was built, with sittings for 1045, and steps were taken to secure
a fixed pastorate.
First Minister. — Samuel Kinloch, from Whitburn. Called to Biggar
and Alnwick in 1760 shortly after obtaining licence, and appointed by
Edinburgh Presbytery to be ordained at Alnwick ; but during his pre-
paratory trials a serious charge was brought against him, and not denied,
which necessitated suspension as a preacher sine die. Having been after-
wards restored he was missioned to North America in 1766, where his
services were much appreciated, and he received calls to Londonderry and
Truro, both in Nova Scotia. However, he returned to Scotland in 1768,
and was ordained at Paisley, 14th June 1769. On the ordination day notice
came from the Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline that they had sustained
a call from Dundee to Mr Kinloch, with a request to sist procedure ; but
the answer was that they must go on now, as the congregation were met,
the edict returned, and the Presbytery just on their way to the place of
worship. The stipend engaged for was ^60, with the promise of increase ;
but there was no rapid inflow of prosperity, and the Presbytery ascertained
five years afterwards that their affairs were in a very embarrassed state, and
they appointed every congregation within their bounds to be active in
collecting for the relief of their brethren in the important town of Paisley.
In 1775 Mr Kinloch had the offer of New Cambridge, in the United States,
but he preferred to remain where he was, though the situation was beset
with difficulties. At next meeting the Synod recommended all their con-
gregations in Scotland to make public collections at once to prevent Paisley
congregation " sinking under their present burdens." In these circum-
stances it is not surprising to find that up to 1780 no increase had been
made to Mr Kinloch's stipend, though the ^60 originally promised was
inadequate for his support. The Presbytery urged an advance, but without
success, and got a satisfactory reason given them.
Other fifteen years passed, and then, in the midst of protests, steps were
taken with a view to a colleague. By the intervention of a Presbyterial
Committee differences among the people were smoothed down, and a
petition for preachers was granted, with Mr Kinloch's acquiescence. In
September 1796 the Presbytery after inquiry gave it as their opinion that
a second minister was essential to the congregation's prosperity. A call
was now presented to the Rev. John Smart of Stirling, but the Synod, in
compliance with his own pleadings, refused to translate. The stipend was
to be ^iio, and the signatures were 282. The Rev. Hector Cameron of
MofTat obtained a majority of votes at next moderation ; but only 108
members subscribed, and the congregation agreed almost unanimously to
withdraw the call. They next united on Mr Thomas Brown, but the Synod
appointed him to Dalkeith. The fourth call brought what was probably
their worst disappointment. It was addressed to Mr Peter Thomson, and
5i8
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the competition lay between Paisley and Whitby. The latter was first in
the field, but both the membership and the temporalities were very small.
Still, as Mr Thomson declined to say a word in favour of either, the Synod
gave Whitby the advantage.* These successive failures had been spread
over two and a half years, and now in April 1800 the Presbytery, having met
with the congregation, found they were far from being in a prosperous
situation. Though professing warm attachment to their pastor members
complained of " Mr Kinloch's exhibitions in the pulpit," and while some
voted for a colleague the great majority were in favour of demission. It
only remained now to inform the minister of the turn matters had taken,
and await the issue. After a pause of two months, during which he pre-
served unbroken silence, the congregation agreed to pay him ^70 a year
if he would retire, and on this understanding his resignation was accepted,
6th August 1800. He died, 21st November 1808, in the seventy-fourth year
of his age and fortieth of his ministry. A high estimate of Mr Kinloch's
gifts as a theologian, and his kindly qualities, appeared soon after in both
the Christian and the Evangelical Magazine.
Second Minister. — William Smart, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars), a
brother of the Rev. John Smart of Stirling, the congregation's earlier choice.
Called also to Kirkintilloch and Braehead, but the Synod gave Paisley
the preference. Ordained, 9th February 1802. The stipend was ^iio,
and it was to be increased as they were able, which would be sure to happen
at Mr Kinloch's death. We know at least that it ultimately amounted to
£,i(yo. In 1827 the present church, with 1178 sittings, was built on the
old site at a cost of about ^2600. Mr Smart died, nth July 1837, in the
sixty-second year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. He had long
felt himself under the workings of heart disease, and that day, on setting
homeward from a meeting of Presbytery, he took ill, stepped into a druggist's
shop, sat down on a chair, and all was over. A volume of his sermons was
published in 1838, with a Memoir by his son, the Rev. William Smart of
Linlithgow, on whom death came eleven years afterwards with even
greater suddenness. Of Mr Smart Professor Graham of London wrote
from among early recollections : " He was the most majestic figure I ever
saw ascend a pulpit."
Third Minister. — William Nisbet, from Cowgate, Edinburgh (now
Fountainhall Road), where he had been ordained eight years before. In-
ducted, 26th April 1838. The membership at this time was over 700, and
the stipend in all was to be ^270. The chief drawback was a debt of
^1800 on the property ; but this was little compared with the burden which
oppressed Mr Nisbet's former congregation, and within eight years it had
been reduced at the rate of ^160 a year, and a nearly equal sum had
gone to the relief of poor members. Mr Nisbet mingled in the Voluntary
Controversy, and published a lecture on the Arguments alleged from
Scripture in favour of Civil Establishments of Religion, and a sermon on
the Voluntary Support of the Christian Ministry. He died, 14th March
1854, in the fifty-second year of his age and twenty-fourth of his ministry.
* Peter Thomson, from Coldstream, was an elder brother of Dr Adam Thomson.
Ordained, nth December 1799, and for the convenience of the Presbytery the ser-
vices were conducted at Coldstream. Loosed, 22nd February 1804, and inducted to
Leeds, 5th April. In both his charges Mr Thomson preached three times every
Sabbath, and, as a rule, wrote his discourses, and committed them to memory. Died,
17th February 1806, in the twenty-eighth year of his age and seventh of his ministry,
leaving a widow and three children, the youngest of whom was born four months
after the father's death. Dr Thomson published a Memoir of his brother shortly
after, accompanied by several sermons preached at Leeds on occasion of the death.
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 519
A Memoir by Dr Eadie, which appeared first in the U.P. Magazine, was
prefixed to a volume of Mr Nisbet's sermons published in 1857. A daughter
of Mr Nisbet was the wife of the Rev. Dr Oliver, Regent Place, Glasgow.
Fourth Minisler. — Andrew Henderson, previously of Coldingham,
where he had been ordained in 1847. Inducted, 17th April 1855. Received
the degree of LL.D. in 1887 from St Andrews, where he had distinguished
himself as a student, specially in the department of Mathematics. Hence,
in seconding Dr Henderson's nomination to the Moderator's chair at the
Synod in 1891, Dr Hutton remarked that when any of his brethren had
forgotten how to square the circle Dr Henderson was the man to go to.
Of special service to the Church was his seven years' convenership of
the Hymnal Committee, which issued in the Joint Hymnary of 1898. At
the recent Union Dr Henderson, though in the fifty-fourth year of his
ministry, showed few marks of failing vigour. At that time there was a
membership of 500 in Abbey Close Church, and the stipend was ^400.
PAISLEY, CANAL STREET (Relief)
On 25th June 1780 a petition signed by about 280 persons, mostly heads of
families, was presented to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow craving to be
taken under their inspection as a forming congregation. The town was
growing fast, and in this connection they would secure a minister of their
own choice, and full freedom to manage their own affairs. A church was
built in 1 78 1 -2, with sittings for scarcely fewer than 1600, and the cost,
together with that of the manse, was somewhere about ^2800.
First Minister. — Patrick Hutchison, M.A., who had been ordained
at St Ninians eight and a half years before, and had become a prominent
member of the Relief Synod and the ablest defender of its distinctive
principles. Inducted to Paisley, 22nd May 1783. On the induction day
Mr Hutchison represented to the Presbytery that in the congregation there
were none who had been elders before, and he was instructed to make up
a list of names to be given in at a subsequent meeting. During the latter
half of that century the population of Paisley increased from 4000 to six
times that number, and, under Mr Hutchison's able and decidedly evangelical
ministry, no wonder though the large church in Canal Street was filled to
overflowing in less than nineteen years. He died, loth January 1802, in the
sixty-second year of his age and twenty-eighth of his ministry.
Mr Hutchison's publications have been characterised under St Ninians,
his first charge. In all of them he brings out very clearly the weak points
in the Antiburgher system with regard to covenanting. He presses the
question whether it is safe to assert with the certainty of an oath " that
the sins of the land are increased by the kind reception that many ministers
and people gave to Mr George Whitefield," and so with other matters of
doubtful disputation. I5ut he is specially severe on their contracted terms
of communion and their anti-toleration principles. In the Established
Church, again, he declares it to be abundantly evident that the Christian
people "are no more regarded in the election of ministers than a broom-
stick." Mr Hutchison argued out the evil of enforcing religious uniformity
by civil pains and penalties as opposed to the spirit of Messiah's kingdom ;
but he disclaimed all sympathy with the toleration of Popery, believing that
every Protestant State ought to guard against the growth of that system
as much "as against the increase of lions, tigers, hy;enas, panthers, and
other devouring animals." As for National Churches, he was no advocate
for them, "as it were easy to demonstrate them to be foreign to the nature
520 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and constitution of the Christian Church." Yet he conies in to speak of the
Relief ministers doing service to the Church of Scotland by keeping the
people under their inspection, " in readiness to fall back into her bosom when
her ministers shall be found preaching the pure and uncorrupted doctrines
of the gospel and asserting the liberties of Christians." This is far short of
the unfaltering Voluntaryism with which Canal Street, Paisley, has been
long familiar.
Second Minister. — John M'Dermid, who had laboured in Banff for
six years with great energy and success. Inducted, 19th May 1802. After
being little more than a year in his new charge Mr M'Dermid got
entangled among profitless theological refinements through some ill-judged
pulpit utterances of his. One of his people complained to the Presbytery
that he had been propounding unscriptural tenets. One of these was that
the human nature of Christ, in consequence of His mediatorship, was made
under the law as a created nature, and another was that the human nature
of Christ will worship the Godhead in heaven, a conclusion which he held
followed from Christ's intercession. Surely the spirit of the Rev. Robert
Imrie of Kinkell had possessed him for the time. Neither of these posi-
tions, the Presbytery held, rested on clear Scripture grounds, and they
recommended him to avoid all such expressions on divine subjects as are
not clearly founded on the Word of God. He acquiesced, and, it is to
be hoped, ever after avoided foolish questions, which gender strifes rather
than godly edifying, which is in faith. Had Imrie learned the same lesson
it would have been well for himself and all concerned. Thirty years now
passed, and in 1833 the congregation, with his own concurrence, petitioned
the Presbytery to have Mr M'Dermid provided with a colleague. He went
on with his pulpit work for the greater part of another year ; but one
Sabbath forenoon he finished a course of lectures on Revelation, and on
returning home he was struck down with illness, and never appeared either
in pulpit or pew again. He died, 22nd March 1834, in the seventy-first year
of his age and thirty-eighth of his ministry. A volume of his sermons was
committed to the press shortly afterwards.
Third Minister. — James Banks, from Saltcoats (now Trinity Church).
Another call was issued to Mr Banks on the same day by the overgrown
congregation of Strathaven to succeed the Rev. John French, but he
accepted Paisley. Ordained, 21st May 1834. Before beginning his studies
for the ministry Mr Banks passed through a full medical course, and
practised for a time in Saltcoats. After his first four years in Canal Street
Church the communicants numbered 885, and" the stipend was ^150, with
manse and garden. Of the debt which had rested on the property ^450
still remained, but no weighty effort would be needed to have it cancelled.
Mr Banks was characterised all along by entire consecration to the work
of the ministry, but after fifteen years of devoted labour in Paisley he was
compelled by failing strength to withdraw. His heart at the same time lay in
the direction of mission work, and to this he meant to devote himself should
vigour be restored. The demission of his charge was accepted, 17th April
1849. A necessitous field of labour opened for him afterwards at Holm,
Kilmarnock, where we trace the after chapters of his long and self-denying
life. It was more than two years now till Canal Street congregation got
out of the vacant state, and owing to some signs of unrest an impression
even went abroad that they were about to seek connection with another
denomination. To prevent the property being alienated the Presbytery
interposed ; but the danger, if it ever existed, disappeared. The Rev.
William Wood of Campsie was now called, but he did not accept. Then
Mr George M. Middleton became the people's eager choice, but he fixed
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 521
on Kinross (West). At next moderation Mr James Stevenson, now of
North Leith, had a majority of 2 over Mr WilHam Clark, who soon after
obtained Barrhead. Then the Rev. Matthew Dickie of Cumnock was
called, but he declined.
Fourth Afmts/er.—GKOKGE C. HUTTON, from Perth (North). Ordained,
9th September 1851. Mr Hutton published in i860 his " Law and Gospel,"
being discourses on primaiy themes, and in 1875 he received the degree of
D.U. from William's College, Williamstown, Massachusetts. Seven years
before this the huge place of worship in Canal Street was remodelled at
a cost of ^1050, and the sittings reduced to 900. At the Synod in 1884
Dr Hutton filled the Moderator's chair, and in 1892 he was elected to the
principalship of the Theological Hall, an office which he held till in 1900
the approach of the Union necessitated readjustments. In 1891 he gave
to the Christian public a minor volume, entitled " The Word and the Book,"
in which the root principles of inspiration are firmly grasped and clearly
unfolded. But it is as the advocate of uncompromising Voluntaryism that
Dr Hutton is specially recognised among his brethren, and in his assaults
on the State Church system even those who may demur to some of his
conclusions admire the way in which he ever and again makes keen wit
brighten up and give point to solid argument. At the close of 1899 the
membership of Canal Street Church was 641, and the stipend ^350, with
the manse.
PAISLEY, THREAD STREET (Relief)
On 6th July 1807 a petition was laid before the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow
signed by 3 persons in name of themselves and their constituents. It
proceeded from a meeting which had been held to consider what should be
■done to remedy the inconvenience experienced in obtaining accommodation
•either in the Established churches or in the Relief church. They also
"brought up the extravagant rate at which the town sittings were let. Papers
had been sent out to ascertain what support might be expected for the
■erection of a second Relief church, and upwards of 260 persons had re-
sponded, and sermon was applied for and granted meanwhile. A church,
with 1640 sittings, was built next year at a cost of over ^3000. About 600
of the pews were held by proprietors at a certain price, of which one half was
required at the time, and those who had paid up the whole sum were only
held liable for their share of repairs.
Fz'rs/ Minister. — James Thomson, who had been ten years minister in
Campsie. Inducted, 23rd December 1808. A bond for the stipend was
produced, but the amount is not given. When the Relief Synod decided in
1824 to have a Theological Hall of their own, Mr Thomson was appointed
their Professor of Theology, an office which he held till his death. The
classes met in Paisley three months in the autumn season, and during that
time the Professor had his pulpit partially supplied. He also received an
allowance of ;^50 to meet incidental expenses. In 1827 he received the
degree of D.D. from the University of Glasgow, the first dissenting minister
who attained to that distinction from that source. In 1838 Thread Street
congregation had 700 communicants, and the stipend was rather more than
^200. The debt was now under £^00. Dr Thomson died, 25th June 1841,
in the sixty-sixth year of his age, forty-third of his ministry, and seven-
teenth of his professoriate. During the following session the Chair was
vacant, the Rev. William Beckett reading the late Professor's lectures, and
the Rev. George Brooks conducting the examinations of the students and
522 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
performing the other duties of the class. Among the Rehef ministers
Paisley and Professor Thomson continued long to be sacred names.
Second Minister. — WiLLiAM M'DOUGALL, translated from Kilmarnock
(King Street), and inducted, 4th April 1842. Mr M'Dougall was renowned
for his pulpit oratory, and the call, with paper of adherence, was subscribed
by upwards of 700. It is doubtful, however, whether the fervour of his
delivery when in Campbeltown, his first charge, or the power which he put
forth in Kilmarnock, did not abate considerably some time after he came to
Paisley, the place where fully the greater part of his ministerial life was
spent. He died, 20th February 1867, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and
forty-fourth of his ministry. A memorial volume, including the sermons
preached on occasion of his death, was published shortly afterwards. Mr
M'Dougall's letters on " Ministerial Communion," written before the Union
with the Secession, evince catholicity of sentiment and grasp of thought.
The membership of Thread Street Church was little over 400 now, and it
declined somewhat during the protracted vacancy. In October of that year
they called the Rev. Thomas Dobbie of Stranraer (West), but he declined to
remove. In 1868 they called the Rev. Robert W. Thomson of Kirn, with a
like result, and in 1869 they fell back on a probationer, Mr Peter B. Gloag,
who preferred to become colleague to the Rev. Dr Johnston of Nicolson
Street, Edinburgh.
Third Minister. — Andrew G. Fleming, who had been ordained almost
exactly ten years before at Alva. Inducted, 22nd February 1870. The
stipend was to be ^400. On Sabbath, 21st April 1872, Thread Street Church
was reopened after being reconstructed to fit requirements less extensive
than those of sixty-five years before. The collections that day amounted to
;^45o, which, added to the subscriptions previously obtained, made a total of
^1628, meeting nearly the whole expenses. The sittings are now 860. In
the course of other seven years the membership rose to 526, and the stipend
to ^470. At the Synod in 1880 Mr Fleming was appointed editor of the
Juvenile Magazine., an office for which his success in addressing children
marked him out, and the duties of which he has since discharged with
thorough efficiency. Thread Street congregation at the close of 1899 num-
bered 658 members, and the stipend was as before. Mr Fleming has two
sons-in-law in the ministry — the Rev. David Christie, Nicolson Street,
Edinburgh, and the Rev. James Adams, St Andrew Square, Greenock.
PAISLEY, ST JAMES' (United Secession)
On 9th December 1823 about 80 persons belonging to an Independent con-
gregation in Paisley petitioned the Secession Presbytery of Glasgow for
sermon "to prepare the way for a more intimate connection." Their
minister had lately removed to the Shiprow Church, Aberdeen, and at a
meeting of the male members this transition had been resolved on. Their
place of worship, with sittings for 1200, had been built in 1820 at a cost of
nearly ^2000. Supply was granted at once, and after delay and some
conversation with the applicants they were erected into a congregation on
20th July 1824.
First Minister. — ARCHIBALD Baird, from Auchtermuchty (East), where
he had been ordained seven years before. Inducted, 8th November 1825.
The call was signed by only yj members, but there were 158 adherents. In
1838 the communicants were returned at nearly 700, the number having been
doubled within seven years. The stipend was the same as at the beginning
— ^200, with an allowance of ^'20 for sacramental and travelling expenses.
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 523
But for the heavy debt, which they were engaged in getting reduced, it might
have been a good deal more, as the income was now ^400. Though the
burden was in course of being hghtened, it weighed down more or less during
the whole of Mr Baird's ministry. The church seems to have been built
very much on speculation, and when it passed over to the Secession there
was money resting on it about up to its value. Mr Baird took a very active
part in the Voluntary Controversy, and wrote a pamphlet, entitled "A Com-
pulsory Establishment of Religion, Rebellion against the Sovereignty of
Christ," a title which brings out the aspect in which he looked at the question.
In 1844 he had the degree of D.D. from Washington College, Pennsylvania.
On 31st October 1857 Dr Baird died, in the seventy-first year of his age and
forty-first of his ministry. Five days before this he awoke during the night
in the agonies of angina pectoris, which continued for some hours, and then
abated. Now at the same hour the deadly assailant returned, but a touch
sufficed, and without a struggle the end came. Dr Baird left a son-in-law,
well known in the U.P. Synod— the Rev. Andrew Robertson of Stow.
At the memorable Synod of 1 841, when the Rev. James Morison's Case
was discussed and disposed of, Mr Baird occupied the Moderator's chair.
Dr Heugh's motion originally proposed to give the committee appointed to
deal with the accused power to restore him to office if they saw fit ; but at the
close of the discussion the Moderator left the chair, spoke warmly on the
general question, and declared he would never consent to have the matter
left to the disposal of any committee. This led to the power of restoration
being kept by the Synod in their own hands. At the close of the proceed-
ings, when Mr Morison was declared out of connection, Mr Baird was
appointed to preach in Clerk's Lane Church and intimate the decision, and,
says Dr Morison's biographer, "the Moderator was not the person to shrink
from such a disagreeable task." The disagreeable task consisted in con-
ducting public worship and reading the brief sentence from a paper put
into his hands. Entrance being, of course, denied, the intimation was read
outside without any tumult or commotion. This is what " an errand of a
most difficult kind," as Dr Adamson describes it, came to.
Second Minister. — James Brown, son of the Rev. Robert Brown of
Cumnock. Ordained, 30th August 1859, having declined Albion Chapel,
London, shortly before. The congregation had previously issued a call to
Mr Peter Duncanson. The membership was now under 400, with consider-
able burdens, and he did not accept, but was ordained at West Calder some
time after. Under the young minister the debt of ^835 was at once grappled
with, and, a grant of ^^150 being obtained from the Board, it was extin-
guished before the close of i860. The stipend promised at first was only
;^i8o, but before the ordination ^30 was added, and the way was now
cleared for better things. Under Mr Brown's energetic ministry there was
steady progress, so that in twenty years the membership increased from
366 to 759. In 1878 he received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow Uni-
versity, and on ist March 1884 the new church, with sittings for iioo, and
built at the fabulous cost of ^29,000, was opened by Principal Cairns. It
was a great occasion, and the collections that day and on the following Sabbath
came up to well-nigh ^5000. Sir Peter Coats was now a pillar in St James'
Church, much to the loss of Oakshaw Street congregation. But Dr Brown
also abounded in literary labours. In 1877 he published "The Life of a
Scottish Probationer," and this was followed next year by his Life of Pro-
fessor Eadie. After an interval of eleven years his Life of Dr William
Robertson appeared, books which have gained for their author an honoured
place in the ranks of literature. From 1880 he also edited the yl//5-j/<7«ar)'
Record., work which must have absorbed a large amount of time, to say
524
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
nothing of mental tear and wear. Rest was demanded, and rest came all
too soon. At Christmas 1888 a severe attack of angina pectoris heralded
the end, and after a resolute bearing-up under broken health he died, 9th
November 1890, in the fifty-sixth year of his age and thirty-second of his
ministry. A volume of Dr Brown's sermons, with a befitting Memoir by his
son, was published in 1892.
Third Minister. — William Ainslie Walton, B.D. Was translated
from Wallace Green, Berwick, and inducted into St James' Church on 28th
January 1892. Mr Walton, who was a licentiate of the Free Church, had
been ordained over the English Presbyterian Church, St George's, Sun-
derland, in 1873, and in 1886 he succeeded the Rev. John Smith at Berwick.
The membership of St James' Church at the close of 1899 was 1030,
and the stipend .^520.
PAISLEY, NEW STREET (United Secession)
This congregation was formed in the Laigh parish church, which had been
exchanged for a more modern building fifteen years before. It was rented
from the magistrates for ten years at the rate of ^40 a year, and had
accommodation for 1400, and on loth June 1834 the parties who had taken
it obtained supply of sermon from the Secession Presbytery of Glasgow. In
November, when a wish was expressed to be congregated, the three Paisley
ministers were instructed, along with their sessions, to examine applicants
for admission to Church fellowship, and on 9th March 1835 a. congregation
was formed with a membership of 37. This was followed in September
by the ordination of two elders and the induction of a third. They were
in readiness now to proceed with a moderation.
First Minister. — Robert C.\irns, translated from Cumbernauld, where
he had ministered with success for nearly eight years. The call was signed
by 72 members and 96 adherents, and it was unanimous. Inducted, 2nd
February 1836. Within two years Mr Cairns reported a membership of
332, and his stipend had increased from ^iio to ^156. But there were
disadvantages arising from the terms on which the building was held, the
magistrates having reserved to themselves the power of applying it to other
purposes on week-days, and the congregation began to raise money for the
erection of a new church. It happened, however, that before the end of
another year they effected a junction with the sister congregation worship-
ping in George Street, and the building passed over to the Evangelical
Union in 1846. This brings us to the history of the United con-
gregation.
Shortly after coming to Paisley Mr Cairns got painfully involved in what
came to be widely spoken of as the Eclipse Case. * The occasion is thus
referred to in M'Cheyne's Journal, Sabbath, 15th May 1836: "This day
an annular eclipse of the sun. Kept both the services together in order to
be in time. Truly a beautiful sight to see the shining edge of the sun all
round the dark disc of the moon." Like many other ministers — the minister
of my early days among the rest — Mr Cairns had no afternoon service
leaving his people free to observe this wonder in the heavens. But it
happened that on the previous Thursday most of the Paisley ministers
attended a private meeting, at which they agreed to petition Parliament
in favour of Sir Andrew Agnew's Bill to promote the better observance of
the Lord's day, and Mr Cairns was among the number present. He was
now charged by some of his brethren with glaring inconsistency, and to
blunt the edge of the accusation he explained that, for reasons of his own,
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 525
he did not sig^n the paper in question. This led to his veracity being ques-
tioned, as several of the ministers could testify that they had seen his
signature at the paper, and, on the ground of a serious misunderstanding
between the brethren in Paisley, the Presbytery in November following
took up the case. Meetings, chiefly in committee, were held, documents
were read, and witnesses examined, and it was not till August 1837 that
a decision was reached. The petition was believed to have disappeared
in a fire which, up in London, had consumed an accumulation of such
documents, but through the efforts of the M.P. for Paisley it was recovered,
and the ministers who said they had seen Mr Cairns' signature at the paper
were found to have been completely mistaken. It only remained now for
the Presbytery to express their satisfaction that the veracity of their brother
had been providentially and entirely vindicated. Verily, truth is sometimes
stranger than fiction.
PAISLEY, GEORGE STREET (United Secession)
This congregation originated first of all in a secession of 31 members^
including an elder, from the Burgher congregation of Abbey Close, Paisley,
at the time of the Old Light Controversy. Their supply from the Original
Burgher Presbytery began on the second Sabbath of January 1800, and
after struggling on for twenty-two years they made a bold bid for importance
by building a church in George Street, with sittings for 1058. The cost
was .^700, of which by far the greater part was paid with borrowed money.
Their first minister, Mr Andrew Thomson, was ordained in November 1823,
and the connection was dissolved in June 1834, the year in which the
Original Burgher Synod arranged to open negotiations for Union with the
Established Church. This was a proposal which did not fit the atmosphere
of Paisley, and in a petition to their own Presbytery for sermon in April
1835 George Street congregation animadverted on what their superiors
were doing, and were exhorted in return to keep fast by the great principle
of national religion. Next month they met, and resolved by three-fourths
of a majority to join the United Secession Church, and on 12th May they
presented a petition to the Secession Presbytery of Glasgow asking to be
recognised as a congregation under their inspection. The reply was that,
as the two churches agreed in everything excepting what relates to the
magistrate's power, which the United Synod made matter of forbearance,
they could be received without difficulty, and Mr Baird of St James' Church
was appointed to preach to them on Sabbath first, and intimate this decision.
There was no time lost now in having the pulpit filled.
First Minister. — John Boyd, from Melville Street, Glasgow (now St
Vincent Street). Ordained at Hexham, 23rd October 1833, and inducted
into George Street, Paisley, 19th Novemlaer 1835. The call was signed by
80 members and 19 adherents, not half the number who subscribed Mr
Thomson's call twelve years before. The minority had withdrawn, and
were worshipping elsewhere, and, besides this, it is scarcely possible for a
church to pass from one denomination to another without suffering serious
disintegration. Mr Boyd's stipend was to be ^iio, and in the beginning of
1838 he reported a membership of 180. But in the course of another year
his former congregation had reason to believe that, if asked, he might return
to them again, and he made up his mind to go. Accordingly, on 14th May
1839 he accepted a call to Hexham. Mr Boyd's subsequent course comes
up under West Kilbride.
Second Minister.— '^OXWM.'X Cairns. Instead of going outside Paisley
526
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
for a successor to Mr Boyd, George Street congregation sought a coalescence
with their brethren in New Street. The two congregations had been running
parallel almost from the beginning, and circumstances favoured the proposal,
as the one had a church but no minister, and the other a minister but no
church. Accordingly, on I2th November 1839 the vacant congregation
presented a paper to the Presbytery signed by 154 members and 49 adherents
intimating that they had come to an agreement with New Street congrega-
tion as to pecuniary matters, and requesting the Presbytery to sanction the
union arranged for. To this the other party had agreed with unanimity at
a congregational meeting, and Mr Cairns, their minister, now expressed his
hearty concurrence. The Presbytery, looking on this peaceful and spon-
taneous junction as "unprecedented almost," declared the congregations
and sessions united under the name of George Street Church, with the Rev.
Robert Cairns as their minister. Better prospects were now opened up for
all parties, though even in harmonious congregational unions the advantage
is often less than might be looked for. In this case the burden of debt
remained oppressive, and Mr Cairns, as appears from an Obituary Notice
written for the magazine by Dr Baird, had many discouragements to face
until the end. He died, after a short illness, on 26th April 1857, in the fifty-
eighth year of his age and thirtieth of his ministry. A discourse on " Ever-
lasting Life : the Reward of the Righteous," so impressed his hearers that
they requested its publication. It appeared in 1853, and remains a little
memento of its author's pulpit efficiency.
Third Minister. — John Wilson, from Kilbarchan. The call was signed
by 242 members and 84 adherents, and the stipend was to be ^175, which
included everything. Ordained, 9th February 1858. There was a debt at
this time of ^1700, the original cost of the building, but under the impulse
of a new ministry and a grant of ^200 from the Board ^812 was now
cleared off. Still, even with the gift of rhetorical speech in their midst, it
was hardly in the nature of things that the congregation could meanwhile be
built up in holiness and comfort. On 17th October 1865 Mr Wilson was
deposed for gross immoralities. He had absconded in circumstances which
involved bigamy, though the earlier marriage was kept secret. He had also
been deep in debt from the first, and his office had given him the means of
fleecing members of his own congregation. He was now beyond the
Atlantic, where, according to report, he found employment about the news-
paper press in New York.
Fourth Minister. — Andrew Elder, from the little congregation of Kin-
kell, where he had been ordained a few years before. Inducted to George
Street, 5th February 1867. The membership was 257, and the stipend
^150. In the end of 1873 Mr Elder was called to the Extension church,
Parkhead, Glasgow, but he was not prepared to face a new array of diffi-
culties, and remained in Paisley. In 1879 and for a number of years after
there was a membership of over 350, and the funds afforded a stipend of
^230, but in 1894 the Presbytery was made aware that the tide was fast
going back, and that debt was accumulating at the rate of £,Zo a year.
Then commenced a succession of complicated dealings, which brought out
that the annual income, which approximated at one time to ^400, was now
down to half that sum. It appeared, moreover, that most of the better-class
families had left within recent years, and it was stated that the decrease in
membership and their financial embarrassments were all owing to want of
harmony. The gearing was out of order, and within seven years eleven
elders had resigned, and the whole of the managers were now resolving to
do the same. Differences had arisen over the election of a church officer,
and on one occasion, at a joint-meeting of elders and managers, held to con-
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 527
suit about the reducing of the debt, the time was consumed in battling over
the question whether the preses of the congregation or the minister was
entitled to take the chair. The whole case was referred to the Synod in
1896, and they appointed assessors to act along with the Presbytery in
bringing it to an issue. Mr Elder, who was acknowledged to be much
respected for his moral and Christian character, had intimated months
before that he would remain at his post, and accept whatever the people
could give him. Matters gradually settled down in the old channel, the
Presbytery testifying to "improvement in spirit, organisation, and effort,"
and the Mission Board regretting that the signs of improvement were not
more manifest. Aid from central funds had not been forthcoming, and
George Street Church began the year of the Union with a membership of
280, and a stipend to the minister of ^120.
PAISLEY, MOSSVALE (United Presbyterian)
This congregation sprang from the missionary efforts of St James' Church,
which had been carried on in a destitute part of Paisley for a number of
years. On 19th October 1880 a memorial signed by 86 members of the
Mossvale Mission asked the Presbytery to have them constituted into a
regular congregation. The paper was presented by Dr James Brown,
accompanied by a Minute of St James' Street session to the same effect.
No objections having been offered a congregation was formed on 7th
December with a membership of 90, and on ist March 1881 a moderation
was applied for. There were now no names on the communion roll, and
the attendance on Sabbath was put at 200. The people undertook to raise
£70 of stipend, and this was to be supplemented by ^50 from St James'
Street, and by the addition of supplement and surplus it was expected that
;^220 would be made up.
First Minister.— Y>AV\p CoOK, from the Independent Church, St
Andrews, a congregation in which the family had long held a prominent
place. Having passed through a regular course of training at St Andrews
University and in the Congregational Hall at Edinburgh, Mr Cook was
ordained at Peterhead in 1845. Thence he removed to Lindsay Street,
Dundee, a town which was, and is, a stronghold of Congregationalism in
Scotland. Here he did important work, and George Gilfillan, with whom
he was on terms of intimacy, characterised him as "a man of extraordinary
knowledge, great philosophic culture, and earnest, onward-moving aspira-
tions." In 1872 he removed from Dundee, and before the close of the year
he became pastor of North Hanover Street Church, Glasgow, which he
resigned in 1876. His experience there had strengthened his predilection
for the Presbyterian system, with its checks and counter-checks, and in May
1878 he was admitted by the Synod to the ministry of the U.P. Church. He
had now been in charge of the mission station at Mossvale for about two
years, and there was the wish to have the pastoral bond formed. Accord-
ingly a call, signed by 76 members and 63 adherents, was addressed to Mr
Cook on 2 1st March 1881, and his induction followed on 5th April. On
13th March 1884 the present church was opened, which, with the gallery,
gives 620 sittings, and cost about ;^35oo. At the close of 1888 there was a
membership of 144, and the funds afforded fully ^100 of stipend. But Mr
Cook's life course was now finished. After being laid aside from active
duty for a considerable time he resigned on 12th April 1887, a medical
certificate attesting that he was permanently incapacitated for work by
reason of brain irritation, the penalty, we may believe, of persistent mental
528
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
strain. In this state he lingered till 31st May 1888, when he died, in the
sixty-fifth year of his age and in or about the forty-third of his ministry.
Second Minister. — David Hall, originally from Regent Place, Glasgow.
Ordained, 7th June 1887, it being felt very desirable that the vacancy should
be brief. The burden on the church must have been formidable for what
was essentially a mission-class congregation, but before the year closed
a bond of ^1400 had been met, with aid from the Presbytery, and in 1893
Mr Hall announced that the property was entirely free of debt. Still,
it was not to be expected that the self-supporting point would be reached.
At the close of 1899 the membership was 149, and the stipend from the
people ^105.
PAISLEY, LYLESLAND (United Presbyterian)
This congregation owed its origin to the fostering care of Thread Street
Church and the interest taken in it by the minister and session. On 4th
March 1884 Mr Fleming informed the Presbytery that the station had been
opened on the second Sabbath of February with an encouraging audience,
and in June he announced further that Mr James B. Nicholson was engaged
to conduct the services for six months. The new church was opened on
Saturday, 20th June 1885, by Dr Aikman, Moderator of Synod. The cost
was about ^2400, and the sittings 354, to which no were added by the
erection of a gallery. Applicants for sealing ordinances were meanwhile
taken into fellowship with Thread Street Church, but on ist June 1886 a
petition from 48 members and 56 adherents was submitted to the Presbytery
asking to be formed into a distinct congregation. The consideration of this
paper was delayed in the hope that before another meeting the way would
be better cleared by the entire debt on the property being liquidated. On
7th September the petition was granted, and the infant congregation put
provisionally under the care of Thread Street session.
First Minister. — John M'Coll, M.A., from Pollokshields. Mr M'ColI
had conducted the mission for over a twelvemonth, and he was ordained,
20th December 1886. There were now 66 names on the communion roll,
and the stipend undertaken by the people was ^60, which it was expected
would be made up to at least ^180 from other sources. By the end of
next year both the membership and the stipend from their own funds were
exactly doubled. In 1896 the church was further enlarged, and other im-
provements made, at an outlay of ^2200, towards which the Board made
a grant of ^400, and ^1400 was raised by means of a bazaar, so that the
building was reopened free of debt. After this stage was reached the rate of
increase behoved to slacken, but at the time of the Union there was a
membership of 380, and a stipend of ^200.
BEITH, MITCHELL STREET (Antiburgher)
Beith, like most of the parishes in Ayrshire, sent a quota of its inhabitants
to Kilmaurs when that place became the seat of the first Secession con-
gregation in that region. The name, however, does not occur in the records
of the .A.ssociate Presbytery, Dr M'Kelvie's error on this point having arisen
from confounding Beith in Ayrshire with Beath in the western division of Fife.
The number of families attending at Kilmaurs, nine miles distant, cannot
have been large, as only two baptisms are entered for 1754, and not one for
the two preceding years. But on 1301 June 1758 a petition was presented to
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 5-9
Kilmaurs .session craving concurrence in an application to the Presbytery
for sermon. It was explained that several persons in that pL'ice wished
frequent preaching " in order to bring them to further light anent the
Testimony." The General Assembly on the 5th of that month had ordered
the Presbytery of Irvine to proceed with the settlement of Mr David
M'Lellan as parish minister in the face of strong opposition, and this
accounts for the step that was now taken. In the following year the first
church was built, regarding which we can give no particulars.
First Minister. — John Laidly, M.A. (his own spelling), from Lockerbie.
He also states that, bred a Seceder, he was admitted to swear the Covenants
at fourteen years of age, and got licence when he was twenty-one. Or-
dained at Beith, nth February 1761. On 12th November 1763 a farewell
address, afterwards published, was read by Mr Laidly to his people, most of
whom knew that he was giving up his charge, and was about to leave
the place. On that occasion he entered largely into matters of dispute
between the Established Church and the Secession, striking out against the
principles to which he had hitherto professed adherence. He maintained
that the Antiburghers, in condemning Toleration and upholding the design
of the Solemn League and Covenant, would fain establish a Jewish Theocracy.
As for Patronage, so much complained against, he was satisfied that " the
choosing of their own ministers would, in a National Church, be attended with
a great many inconveniences." Besides, he said, people are not obliged to
submit to the ministrations of those whom they called hirelings and
intruders. It ended with Glasgow Presbytery reporting to the Synod that
Mr John Laidly having apostatised from the Lord's cause and testimony,
they had on i6th Noveniber loosed him from his charge, and deposed him
from the ministry. In the Old Statistical History it is stated that Mr
Laidly joined the Established Church, but we have not succeeded in tracing
him further, only it appears that he never held a charge in that connection.
Second Minister. — Andrew Mitchell, from Alloa (now Townhead).
The call was signed by T] (male) members and 15 adherents, and Mr
Mitchell was ordained, 15th May 1765. About the seventeenth year of his
ministry Beith congregation was turned into a troubled sea, and the
minister, though a man of forbearing temper, exposed to a storm of bitter
hostility. It was the Lifter Controversy, with its headquarters in Ayrshire
that had come in to cause all this turmoil and distress. The malcontents,
who insisted that the lifting of the elements before the consecration prayer
was essential to the right administration of the communion ordinance, were
headed by Bryce Kerr, an elder by whose name the party in the place was
generally known. In the session minutes of nth September 1782 it is
entered that he, with other three elders and a deacon, had withdrawn from
oflfice. This left six elders and one deacon. We here go back to a
meeting of session on 3rd June of that year, when arrangements were to be
made for having the Lord's Supper dispensed. After warm disputings the
question was put, Proceed to sacramental work or Not, and it carried Not,
from which the Moderator dissented. Bryce Kerr and two of the others
were the objectors, and "owing to the mournful confusion which now sub-
sisted in the session and congregation the other brethren were so grieved
and confounded that they could not vote at all," except one, who said
Proceed.
Another meeting on 2nd September gives us insight into the inner
machinery : " Some conference taking place among members relative to the
present differences as to the administration of the sacrament, John Ken-
signified that he had no freedom either to join in communicating work as
a Christian or to officiate as an elder at the ensuing solemnity. The
53°
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Moderator spent some considerable time in dealing with him as to his
present rash mistaken views, in the course of which dealings he threw out a
variety of abusive language and false aspersions on the Moderator and
Synod, and then went off in a fit of passion, signifying that he would never
sit in session more. After some conversation upon his conduct the session
had reason to believe that the whole proceeded from that undue influence
which his nephew, Bryce Kerr, elder, has used with him to take this step,
who has all along acted as an incendiary in this affair, and some members
expressed their fears that others of their brethren in session were likely to
take the same disorderly and irregular course under the same influence."
This scene recalls Ramsay of Glasgow's experience of the Lifter Controversy
— a tempestuous time in session and out of it, he said, " chiefly because those
engaged in it would listen to no instruction, hear no reasoning, bear no
contradiction. It seemed as if lambs had been transformed into wolves,
and the tamed lion had become wild — in short, as if all nature had run out ot
course." Dr Mitchell, the minister's son, remembered seeing Bryce Kerr
haranguing the people with the foam flying from his lips, and winding up
by charging them to stand to it, else they would rot in their graves.
From this state Beith congregation emerged greatly weakened, and in
1785 the Synod allowed their minister a small grant in respect of the
people's deficiency in the payment of stipend. Next year the Burgher
Presbytery of Glasgow responded to a petition for sermon from Beith ; but
after going on for fully a year supply was discontinued, and it was well
that it should. Mr Mitchell died at Garnethill, Glasgow, 8th February 181 2,
in the seventy-third year of his age and forty-seventh of his ministry, leaving
a son and a son-in-law, who both obtained a high place in the Secession
ministry — Dr John Mitchell of Wellington Street and Dr Robert Muter
of Duke Street.
Third Minister.— ] AUTS.s Meikle, from Strathaven (First). Called also
to Saltcoats (West), but the Presbytery decided in favour of Beith. Or-
dained, 15th September 1812. The stipend was to be 100 guineas, with ^8
for sacramental expenses. In addition to this a manse was built that year
at a cost of ^550, and in 1816 there was the rebuilding of the church, with
sittings for 400, at a cost of ^650. But the congregation was overshadowed
by the Relief Church in Beith, so much so that the parish minister in 1836
assigned 969 parishioners, young and old, to the latter, and only 388 to the
former. The communicants at this date were 170, and the debt was reduced
to ^240. Mr Meikle published his best-known work : The Edenic Dispensa-
tion, in 1849, the year of his Moderatorship, and in 1856 he received the
degree of D.D. from Princeton, New Jersey. The book was vigorously
as well as rigorously criticised by Dr Eadie in the U.P. Magazine when
it appeared, but it was believed to stamp the. author as an able theologian.
It was followed by two volumes on the Mediatorial Dispensation — its Nature,
and its Administration — the former in 1853 and the latter in 1859. On
I2th November 1861 Dr Meikle's jubilee was celebrated, and he was pre-
sented on that occasion with a gift of 406 sovereigns. For other six years
he discharged regular ministerial work, and then arrangements were made
for a colleague. In March 1868 the congregation was much satisfied with
Mr Peter Stewart, preacher, Campbeltown ; but he took ill the Monday after
his second Sabbath among them, and died, 2nd April, in the twenty-ninth
year of his age.
Fourth Minister. — Henry Glen, from East Campbell Street, Glasgow.
Ordained, 15th December 1868. Dr Meikle's stipend had been ultimately
raised to ^120, and he was now to have ^30, with the manse, and the
junior minister was to receive ^150 in all, the membership being 130. On
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 531
i6th September 1870 the aged minister died, in the fifty-ninth year of his
ministry, having entered on the eighty-third year of his age four days before.
In 1871 the congregation expended ^312 in renovating the manse for
the occupancy of the young minister, ^100 of which came from the Board.
Mr Glen's stipend at the close of 1879 was ^160, with the manse, and there
were 170 names on the communion roll, the same as in 1836. The present
church, with sittings for 480, and built at a cost of over ;^2ooo, was opened
on Thursday, 6th July 1893, by Dr Ferguson of Queen's Park, Glasgow.
The collections that day and on the following Sabbath enabled the con-
gregation to take possession free of debt. In January 1900 there was a
membership of 210, and a stipend of ^180, besides the manse.
BEITH, HEAD STREET (Relief)
On 24th January 1783 we find the earliest trace of steps taken to form what
came to be Beith Relief Church. That day " The Free Presbyterian Society
was founded," with Rules and Articles, in which a testimony was borne
against " the unscriptural yoke of Patronage." After a time the building
of a place of worship was proceeded with on the proprietor system, the
subscribers, who numbered 155, being to receive a deduction off their seat
rents for the sums they advanced. The intention at this time was to have
a minister in connection with the Established Church, but the Presbytery
of Irvine frowned down the whole proposal as hostile to the rights of the
parochial incumbent, and the result was an application for sermon to the
Relief Presbytery of Glasgow on 25th May 1784. On the following Sabbath
Mr Pinkerton of Campbeltown conducted the services, the petition mean-
while lying on the table, and on 28th June the Presbytery promised the
commissioners all the supplies in their power. The church was now finished,
with sittings for about 1000 at first, but reduced in course of time to 850.
Before getting under a fixed ministry the congregation had troubled
waters to pass through. The Rev. William Heriot, who had been loosed
from the Relief Church, Strathaven, for grave misconduct fully established,
preached at Beith for a considerable time, and as he possessed pulpit gifts
he drew away a great part of the people after him. The Presbytery, fearing
what the end would be, tried to arrest procedure ; but a moderation had to
be conceded, and in January 1787 Mr Heriot was called by a majority of
one or two, but the call was unanimously rejected by the Presbytery, and
the parties exhorted to mutual forbearance. Complaints now cropped up
against Mr Heriot for intemperate behaviour, to which he had added the
offence of preaching in opposition to the Presbytery's authority. On 9th
October he was deposed from the ministry. He died some time between
that and May 1791, when his widow petitioned the Synod for the repayment
of the money he had paid into the Fund for the support of Widows and
Orphans. This paragraph winds up what is known of the last chapter in the
life of the first Relief minister of Strathaven.
First Minister. — WiLLlAM THOM.SON, from Doune, Stirlingshire.
Passed from the Established Church to the Relief when a theological
student. The call from Beith was accompanied by a paper of adherence,
in which 307 persons declared their wish to have Mr Thomson for their
minister, but notice came of another call from Perth (East Church), and
Mr Thomson's decision was delayed. At next meeting, being at a loss
as to present duty, he submitted himself to the judgment of the Presbytery,
who were unanimously of opinion that he should accept Beith. He acted
accordingly, and was ordained, 23rd January 1788. Attempts to remove
532 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
him were twice withstood, the first coming from Clackmannan within a
twelvemonth, and the second from Old Kilpatrick in 1795 '■> but a third,
from Hutchesontov/n, the church with which his name was long to be
connected, prevailed, and on 29th July 1800 Mr Thomson was loosed from
Beith. Those twelve years under a powerful ministry like his must have
given the Relief cause a strong standing in the place. The next call was
addressed to Mr William Auld, afterwards of Greenock, but he explained
that he had already accepted another to the forming congregation of
Burnhead.
Second Minister. — James Anderson, from Campsie. Ordained, 12th
April 1802. Between this and 1836 there is little to record, but at the
close of the latter year there were 530 names on the communion roll. About
one-sixth of the families were from the parishes of Dairy, Kilbirnie, and
Lochwinnoch. The stipend was ^120, with a house and ground valued at
^17 a year, and also sacramental expenses. Though a {e\v of the seats were
still allocated to persons who subscribed for the erection of the church the
proprietor system was evidently dying out, and the debt that remained was
under ^100. But Mr Anderson was now nearing the period of failing health
when a colleague had to be provided.
Third Minister. — William C. Wardrop, who had laboured in the
newly-formed congregation of Rutherglen for four years. Inducted, 24th
March 1840. The senior minister died on the last day of 1841, in the
sixty-seventh year of his age and fortieth of his ministry, and Mr Wardrop
followed within a twelvemonth, dying on 17th December 1842, in the twenty-
ninth year of his age and seventh of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — James Martin, from Bloomgate, Lanark. Ordained,.
25th July 1843, having previously withdrawn his acceptance of Airdrie (now
South Bridge Street). The stipend was to be ^iio, with manse and glebe.
The bond between Mr Martin and the congregation was strengthened soon
after by his marriage into the family of Mr Anderson, their former minister.
In 1879 the congregation had a membership of 350, and when a colleague
came to be thought of three years later the stipend was ^200. But at this
time harmony was disturbed by a protested moderation and a divided call,
when Mr John W. Slater had a majority over Mr P. B. Crowley, now of
Stonehaven, but he promptly intimated that he had accepted Scone. When
they next approached the Presbytery the money arrangements were on a
less liberal scale than before.
Fifth Minister. — John Lennox, from Newmilns. Ordained, i8th
November 1884. The senior minister was to have ^80, with manse and
glebe, and the junior ;!^i5o, which the Board raised to ^180, including house
rent. After the settlement of his colleague Mr Martin only preached occa-
sionally. In 1892 Mr Lennox was called to Gillespie Church, Glasgow, but
he preferred to go on in Beith. At his jubilee soiree on the evening of 19th
September 1892 Mr Martin was presented with a casket containing ;^320 in
gold, and there was special mention made of his services to the community
in the cause of education. He died, i8th March 1895, in the eighty-fifth
year of his age and fifty-second of his ministry. The membership of Head
Street Church at the Union was about 320, and the stipend ^200, with the
manse.
KILBARCHAN (Relief)
The Rev. John Warner, whose settlement as minister of Kilbarchan in 1 739
gave origin to a Secession congregation at Burntshields, died, 8th March
1786, having held the parish pulpit under the sway of Moderatism for forty-
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 533
seven years. On 23rd May thereafter "a respectable body of people" in
Kilbarchan and its neighbourhood petitioned the Relief Presbytery of
Glasgow to be received as a forming congregation, and the Rev. Thomas
Bell of Dovehill Church preached to them on the following Sabbath. This
application had been resolved on at a largely attended meeting held a fort-
night before, and without waiting to see how the vacancy was to be filled
up. In July the patron issued a presentation to Mr Patrick Maxwell, who
had been tutor in his family, a circumstance to which he owed his promotion.
Like the former minister he belonged to the Moderate class, and the fact
that he was a licentiate of ten years' standing was not fitted to recommend
him to the people. At the end of that month a circular was issued for the
erection of a place of worship, which was pronounced indispensably neces-
sary, because, the parish church belonging to the landed interest, the people
could not be accommodated with seats, and also "that they might have a
free choice of their pastor according to the Word of God." Subscribers ot
not less than ;!^i were to be proprietors, with interest at five per cent,
deducted from the yearly rent put upon their seats, but on proceeding to
call a minister all who intended to put themselves under his inspection,
whether contributors or not, were to have a vote, provided they were of
good character. In March 1787 the foundation stone was laid, and Mr
Maxwell was not ordained till 5th July, after a year's enforced delay. The
building, which was meant to accommodate iioo, was not finished till the
summer of 1789, but the congregation found shelter within its walls during
the preceding winter. The proprietors at first were 125 in number, and
the church cost .^1000, so that a considerable part must have lain as
debt on the building.
First Minister. — JOHN M'Laren, of whose origin we only learn that he
was served heir to his father, a feuar in Callander, in 1795. ^^ ^^.d calls
from Hamilton (Auchingramont) and Kilbarchan, and, having preferred the
latter, he was ordained, 13th May 1788, the services having to be conducted
in the open air owing to the unfinished state of the church. The stipend at
first was only ^^90, but by successive additions it was brought up to .^130..
The organisation of the church was completed on 21st November by the
ordination of nine elders, of whom four resided in Kilbarchan and two in
Johnstone. Mr M'Laren died somewhat suddenly on 26th March 1808,
in the forty-fifth year of his age and twentieth of his ministry. The stone
tablet erected to his memory bears that he was "beloved, honoured, and
lamented as a man, a husband, a father, and a friend."
Second Minister.— jons Kesson, a licentiate of St Ninians Presbytery.
Ordained, 20th July 1809. The stipend was to be ;^i6o in all, a token ot
the strength the congregation had acquired under its first minister. Mr
Kesson, who is said to have been less successful than his predecessor, died,
I2th December 1815, in the thirty-fourth year of his age and seventh of his
ministry. Of his family connections we only know that his wife was a sister
of Mr John M'Gregor, afterwards of Bridge Street, Stranraer. The congre-
gation now, after a brief vacancy, called Mr John Nichol, but the call was
dismissed when he announced his acceptance of another from Ayr (Cathcart
Street). It has been stated that they next called Mr (iavin Struthers, but,
though they were prepared to do so, they stopped short, as he informed
them that he intended to accept Anderston, Glasgow.
T/iird Minister.— Matthew Alison, from Strathaven (East). Or-
dained, 1 8th August 1 818. At the moderation the Rev. James TurnbuU of
Colinsburgh, afterwards of Calton, Glasgow, was proposed, as he had been
on the former occasion, but his following was now much reduced, and
the harmony of the congregation appears to have been little interfered
534 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
with. The stipend was fixed at ^140, including expenses, but the minister
was also to be provided with a comfortable dwelling-house. This latter part
of the engagement was fulfilled in the following year by the erection of a
manse. In 1838 the communicants were estimated at 700, and the con-
gregation had 33 families from Houston and Killallan, 10 from Lochwinnoch,
and 9 from Abbey parish, Paisley. The stipend was ^140 as before, and
it was secured by bond on the property. There was also the manse and a
garden of half-an-acre. There was a debt of ;^i2o, besides a sum of ^260
due the original subscribers, which they were not at liberty to call up. On
31st May 1841 Mr Alison was loosed from his charge, having decided, much
against the wishes of his people, to emigrate to America. There he
ministered two years to a congregation in Paterson, New York ; but in
August 1843 it was announced to Glasgow Presbytery that he had returned
for the health of his family, and he was received as a preacher. He re-
mained in this country till the following spring, and then went back to the
United States, where he was inducted to the charge of Mififlintown, Penn-
sylvania. He laboured there nearly twenty-eight years, and died, 8th July
1872, in the seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-fourth of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — George Alison, a nephew of his predecessor, and,
like him, from Strathaven (East). Ordained, 23rd March 1842. The con-
gregation must have suffered by the formation of Johnstone (East) in 1829,
as that involved the disjunction of a considerable branch of the membership.
There was also the setting up of a Chartist church in the village towards the
close of the former ministry, which may have done something to mature
Mr Matthew Alison's resolve to leave for America. Kilbarchan was a place
in which Radicalism was not unlikely to run into extreme forms. But,
whatever may have been the reason, the stipend was now down to ^100,
with the manse, but ^5 was to be added for every ^^loo of debt cleared
off. To have the long burden of ^500 removed the congregation, headed
by their young minister, now set to work, without having recourse to
external aid, and in 1849 the end was gained. In 1872 the church was
. remodelled and renovated at a cost of over ^1200, and on Sabbath, gth
March 1873, it was reopened by Professor Eadie, when the collections
amounted to ^164. There was still a slight debt remaining, but it was
speedily defrayed. In May 1893 a moderation was applied for with the
view of providing a colleague for Mr Alison, who had now completed his
seventy-fourth year, and entered on the fifty-second of his ministry. His
own suggestion was that he should give up ^200 of the stipend, which
would leave him ^40, with the manse. He would thus continue to dwell
among his own people with the status of senior minister, preaching occa-
sionally, his colleague to have the entire responsibility in thfe session and
congregation.
Fifth Minister. — Robert Russell, M.A., from Cumbernauld. Called
to Bethelfield, Kirkcaldy, but preferred Kilbarchan, where he was ordained,
28th June 1893. The membership at the beginning of 1900 was 420, and
the stipend of the junior minister ^230 in all, Mr Alison's position being
the same as was previously arranged for.
JOHNSTONE, WEST (Burgher)
On 14th June 1791 the session of Burntshields laid a petition for sermon before
the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow from some members of their congrega-
tion and a large number of adherents from other communions. In reply to
this application Mr Moir of Tarbolton was appointed to preach at Bridge-
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 535
of-Johnstone on the first Sabbath of July. This place, which had not
attained even to the dignity of a hamlet ten years before, was no\y a growing
town with a population of at least 1200, and the Burgher families residing
therein were disinclined to travel longer to Burntshields, a distance of three
miles, believing themselves strong enough to have a minister for themselves.
Their prospects having been tested by three months of occasional supply,
a meeting was held at Burntshields on nth October to consider the ex-
pediency of dividing themselves into two or more independent branches,
with the result as given already. Those present were also of opinion
that the minister should be transferred to Johnstone. The resolutions
adopted were sanctioned by the Presbytery on the 19th of that month. A
church was built before the end of the year— at least, 1 791 is the date engraven
on one of the inner corbels — and the cost is supposed to have been not less
than ^^900. . ...
First Minister. — John Lindsay, who began the exercise of his mmistry
at Johnstone Bridge on the first Sabbath of February 1792, that being
probably the time when the church was ready for occupancy. The people
were to pay him ^100 a year in all, or ^90, with a free house. That year
they raised a sum of ^200, but a debt of ^456 remained on the building, and
instead of making an effort to clear it off they allowed it to increase year by
year through non-payment of interest.
But at the climax of the Old Light Controversy worse evils emerged, and
required the intervention of the Presbytery. The managers were m distress
over the failure in the funds, and when the Presbytery met with the parties
all were in a state of deep depression. The mother congregation of Burnt-
shields had gone off to the New Presbytery, and the separating party there
were doing their best to draw others after them. Mr Lindsay's want of
decision with respect to the matters in dispute had also been improved to
his disadvantage, illustrating what Dr Hay of Kinross spoke of when
recalling with thankfulness the firm stand he took at that trying time : " The
vacillation of many of my brethren both injured their congregations and
brought reproach upon themselves." The proceedings closed with an
agreement on Mr Lindsay's part to take meanwhile what stipend the people
could afford to give him. The situation of affairs remained in much the
same state till his death on 24th March (O.S.) 1806, in the seventy-second
year of his age and thirty-third of his ministry. He was one of three
Burgher ministers who were married to sisters of the Rev. James Hall, Rose
Street, Edinburgh. ^ , • , .
Second Minister.— JOH-^ Clapperton, from Stow. Ordained, 14th
April 1807. Though the congregation was still considered in an enfeebled
state the call was signed by 224 communicants, and as the population of
Johnstone was more than doubled since the church began, there were ample
means of increase. We find accordingly that in 1838 there was a member-
ship of 440. The stipend, including expenses, was .^162, 12s., and the
minister had recently entered on the occupancy of a manse, the cost ot
which had raised the debt from ^350 to ^850. The great bulk of the
congregation resided in the Abbey parish of Paisley, which means Johnstone
and its neighbourhood, but ten or a dozen families were from Houston parish,
and nearly double that number from Kilbarchan. During the Atonement
Controversy Mr Clapperton adhered uncompromisingly to the old paths, as
he reckoned them, and had no sympathy with talk about the Atonement
having a general reference. One utterance of his in the Synod will bear
quotation. He objected to the statement that in the gospel the door of
mercy is open to all, and said that it was enough to tell a man that if he
came to the door of mercy he would find it open. It is similar in purport
536
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to the position taken up by the Rev. James Forsyth of Craigend in a
pamphlet that is dealt with in its proper place. It shows how extremes
meet, and how to avoid the semblance of Arminianism mercy's gate is
made to turn upon the action of the individual will. Mr Clapperton's name
in this connection also helps to set aside an impression entertained in those
days, that the leaders on the more strictly Calvinistic side were Old Anti-
burghers. So far from this Drs Marshall and Hay, not to mention Messrs
Clapperton of Johnstone, Fraser of Alloa, and Law of Kirkcaldy, were all
trained in the Burgher Hall, and had been members of the Burgher Synod.
Whatever divergence there might be in Secession theology at that restless
time it did not run on old lines of separation.
Mr Clapperton died, 28th June 1849, in the sixty-ninth year of his
age and forty-third of his ministry. By his marriage he was a brother-in-
law of the Rev. Dr Nicol of Jedburgh, and he left a son-in-law in the U.P.
ministry — the Rev. John Hunter of Savoch. One production of his pen was
a pamphlet on Competing Calls. One or two imperious decisions of Synod
had stirred feehng in favour of leaving the question in all such cases with the
party himself, and Mr Clapperton seeing that innovation was threatened
came forward to reason it down. But though ingenuity, backed by earnest-
ness, failed to gain its end it is interesting to hear what could be said in
support of a state of things that has passed away.
Third Minister.— ]amks Inglis, son of the Rev. James Inglis, formerly
of Midholm, but then residing in Edinburgh. The family, along with their
father, were in connection with Dr M'Crie's Church, but on coming to years
the sons sought back into the United Secession Church, and in 1842 James
was enrolled as a student in the United Secession Hall. Ordained at
Johnstone, i6th April 1850, having declined Huntly nearly two years before,
a place where a man of his stamp was much needed. The membership ot
Johnstone (West) at this time was 212, of whom 202, along with 82 adherents
signed the call. Still, these numbers show decline since last ordination, almost
exactly forty-three years before. Under Mr Inglis there was careful and un-
wearied building up. Possessing what seems to have been a family gift he
threw himself with special ardour into Sabbath -school and Bible-class work,
and by his pen extended his influence in this way far beyond his own congrega-
tion.. Here his " Bible Texts' Cyclopedia," published in 1 861, is entitled to
special mention. During his lengthened ministry, with a large population
to work on, the congregation increased, and at the end of thirty years it
numbered 272 communicants, and furnished a stipend of ^230. But in the
beginning of 1887 Mr Inglis felt so enfeebled that he told his session he
must withdraw entirely from ministerial work for the time, and left the
situation in their hands. The congregation promptly resolved to provide
him with a colleague and successor, the senior minister to have ^100 and
the junior ^200, the one to occupy the manse and the other to have ^30
instead.
Fourth Minister. — William Westwood, M.A., from Dunning. Or-
dained, 1st November 1887. After seeing the pulpit filled Mr Inglis
arranged to remove to Edinburgh, where he was to spend the remaining
years of his life. There he and his family joined the membership of Rose-
hall Church. On Monday, 30th November 1891, the centenary of the con-
gregation was celebrated, the senior minister being present, but a history
of the church, which he had drawn up with much care, and which was after-
wards published, had to be read by another. Mr- Inglis died on 8th May
1894, in the seventy-ninth year of his age and forty-fourth of his ministiy.
His son James was ordained as a missionary to Manchuria on i8th Decem-
ber 1890, where he still labours, and one of his daughters is married to Dr
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 537
Dugald Christie, of the same mission. Mr Westwood was called to Frederick
Street, Glasgow (now Alexandra Parade) in 1894, but remained in Johnstone.
At the close of 1899 the church had a membership of 389, and the stipend
was ^240, with the manse.
JOHNSTONE, EAST (Relief)
The first attempt to form a Relief congregation in this growing town was a
failure. It began with a petition on 5th July 1825 from inhabitants of Johnstone
and its neighbourhood for supply of sermon. The first who preached was
the Rev. Matthew Alison of Kilbarchan. From him and others who followed
favourable reports were given in, and supply was kept up for fourteen months,
but on 5th September 1826 the people intimated by letter that, owing to the
great expense incurred, they declined to make any further application for
preachers. The Presbytery felt disappointed after the great exertions made
•on their behalf, and a committee was instructed to advise with them, but
for nearly three years the name is lost sight of. On 14th April 1829 they
gave in the draft of a constitution, and they had a church, with 800 sittings,
■either built or in course of building. Preachers were sent them at once, of
whom the second was Mr William Lindsay, who became their choice. The
church cost ^1500, including the session-house, which was added some time
after, and a debt was incurred of ^1280.
First Minister.— ^WAAXW Lindsay, from Irvine (Rehef). Ordained,
27th April 1830, and on 6th November 1832 he accepted a call to Dovehill,
Glasgow (now Kelvingrove). The stipend during his short ministry was
^120, with expenses, and the membership when he left was 180.
Second Minister.— 0-&o^G% BROOKS, from Musselburgh, Millhill. At the
moderation 193 voted for Mr Brooks and 50 for Mr James Russell, after-
wards of Old Kilpatrick, but the minority acquiesced, and signed the call.
Ordained, 19th September 1833. In the beginning of 1838 the communicants
numbered 366, and the stipend was ^128 in all, the debt draining away a
good part of the income, an evil which continued, more or less, for a long
course of years. The pressure was so great at the close of 1842 that the
good offices of the Presbytery were called in, and by a speedy subsidy of
^200 the pinch of the difficulty was got over. In 1845 the'burden was
further lightened by a grant of ^160 from the Debt Liquidation Fund, which
would imply corresponding exertion on the part of the people. But it was
not till 1873 that the final sum of ^^576 was cleared off, with the aid of ^210
from the Liquidation Board. On 2nd December of that year Mr Brooks'
dernission , of his charge was accepted, which he had tendered owing to
failing health, the congregation agreeing to a retiring allowance of ^75 a
year, which he surrendered eleven years before his death. He was also
admitted as an annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund. He
soon afterwards removed to Edinburgh, where he became a member of
Nicolson Street Church, and died, 25th November 1892, in the eighty-third
year of his age and sixtieth of his ministerial life. In 1863 Mr Brooks
published "Five Hundred Plans of Sermons," a book in the preparation of
which he had scope for those gifts of analysis which used to impart rare
interest and value to his criticisms of students' discourses. The contents,
though of very unequal merit, emphasise the importance of having sermons
"laid out" in a memorable and methodical way, but some stray articles of
his in the denominational magazine give a better view of the author's powers
and acquirements. No Memoir of Mr Brooks appeared after his death.
538 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
It recalls the words of John Howard when the end was near : " Lay me
quietly in the earth, place a sundial over my grave, and let me be forgotten."
Third Minister — HUGH Gemmill, B.D., from Fenwick. Ordained,
17th March 1874, after declining St Paul's, Birkenhead. The membership
at the Union was 415, and the stipend ^260, with a manse.
LOCHWINNOCH (Burgher)
A NUMBER of families in this parish had been connected with Burntshields
congregation almost from the beginning, and their number was augmented
in 1750 by the settlement of Mr John Cooper in the face of keen opposition.
Of Mr Cooper one of his successors, Dr Smith, says : " He was the only
minister of this church who belonged to what is called the Moderate party."
But Dr Smith also testified that Mr Cooper was an excellent scholar,
irreproachable in character, and most attentive to his parochial duties.
The village having largely increased, the Seceders about Lochwinnoch
petitioned the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow on 26th July 1791 to be
formed into a distinct congregation, and a letter was read from some
members of Burntshields congregation declaring their willingness to support
their minister though Lochwinnoch people were disjoined. Sermon was
granted, and a church, with 500 sittings, was built in the following year.
The money ultimately laid out on the property, including the manse, was
about ^1200. The congregation in its beginnings issued three unsuccessful
calls. The first was to Mr Alexander Easton, whom the Synod appointed to
Miles Lane, London, and of whom there is more under Hamilton (Avon
Street). This call was signed by 126 members. The second was addressed
to Mr Andrew Lothian, who was appointed to Port-Glasgow, and the third
to Mr Henry Belfrage, who became his father's colleague at Falkirk.
First Minister. — William Schaw, from Falkirk (now Erskine Church).
Ordained, 26th August 1795. The stipend promised was ^80. Mr Schaw
was loosed on 4th August 1801 on accepting a call to the recently-formed
congregation of Ayr (now Darlington Place).
Second Minister. — James Robson, from Kelso (First). Ordained, 20th
April 1803. The call was not harmonious, and through dissension the con-
gregation was weakened every way. Mr Robson had previously entertained
the idea of emigrating to America, and in February 1809 he informed the
Presbytery that his stipend was inadequate, and as his people declared they
were unable to give more it was his purpose to demit his charge. The com-
municants at this time were iii, and the income, which reached over ^100
in 1805, was down to ^68, and they had a debt of ^300. It carried on 28th
March to accept the demission instead of referring the case to the Synod.
After lingering in this country for two years as a preacher Mr Robson
removed to Nova Scotia, and on 13th May 1812 was inducted to Halifax,
where he remained till the summer of 1820, vvhen, owing to dispeace in the
congregation, he resigned his charge. In 1824 he was inducted to Pictou,.
and died there, 8th December 1838, in the sixty-third year of his age and
thirty-sixth of his ministry. Of Mr Robson a brother minister testified :
" He was a man of cultivated tastes, and exceedingly attentive to his pulpit
exhibitions, and he was not surpassed as a preacher by any minister ofl
the place." j
The congregation of Lochwinnoch had now a dreary vacancy of]
fifteen years to pass through, and it is pitiable to go over the unsuccessful'
calls they issued during that period, most of the preachers they fixed on
becoming in course of time men of decided mark. They began with Mr]
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 539
Robert Balmer, although not till 181 3, but he was appointed to Berwick.
Ihe stipend undertaken was ^100, with expenses, and there was no manse
^s. y^[: . ^"/^,^5 they called Mr George Donaldson, but they had no chance
with School Wynd, Dundee. A year later they called Mr Henry Angus,
who declared for Aberdeen, though his inclination lay towards Lochwinnoch
at hrst, as nearer the centre and nearer home. The next call was delayed till
1819. It was one of five addressed to Mr Alexander Waugh, and 'it was
signed by 153 members and 249 adherents, but the claims of Miles Lane,
London, were pre-eminent {see vol. i., p. 197). The fifth was given to
Mr George VVood, and it led to a long discussion at the Synod in September
1820, but Kirkcudbright carried, as is stated fully under that heading. A letter
was sent to Lochwinnoch at this time in name of the Supreme Court expres-
sive of deep interest in the congregation's welfare and satisfaction to know
that, amidst so many disappointments, the people had neither abandoned
their principles nor sunk into despondency nor indulged in harsh and peevish
reflections. Two other unsuccessful calls were still to follow— one to Mr
David Young, afterwards Dr Young of Perth, which the Presbytery laid
aside, deeming the prosecution hopeless, and the other in 1822 to Mr
\Villiam Johnston, which was withdrawn in consequence of another from
Limekilns. The stipend named at this time was ^100, with a house, which
the Presbytery reckoned inadequate, but Abbey Close, Paisley, was to add
^lo for three years if found necessary.
T/ttrd Minister.— ]owi Shoolbr.\id, from Kennoway. Ordained, 25th
November 1824. In the fourteenth year of his ministry Mr Shoolbraid re-
ported a membership of 185, of whom 160 belonged to the village. The
stipend was .^106, and there was a manse now, in the building of which
assistance had come from sister congregations. The entire debt on the
property was ^220. In September 1841 Mr Shoolbraid tendered his demis-
sion, stating that the congregation required more vigorous efforts to keep
It up than the state of his health allowed. The people testified their satis-
faction with his labours of seventeen years, and the resignation was accepted
on 1 2th October. Mr Shoolbraid then removed to Elgin, with attestations of
high esteem from the Presbytery. On 12th November 1844 he applied to
Elgin Presbytery for a certificate of ministerial status, as he intended to
withdraw from the fellowship of the Secession Church. The imperious
element being strong in that Presbytery, the certificate was withheld on the
plea that he had not told what denomination he intended to join, nor assigned
any reason for making the change. Two months later he asked them to
review their decision, but they refused, and the case came before the Synod
in July 1845. Members agreed that the certificate had been held back on
unjustifiable grounds, and astonishment was expressed that the refusal had
ever been thought of At the Inverness Assembly in August following Mr
Shoolbraid was received into the Free Church, and in 1846 he became
minister of Mortlach, where he died, i8th February 1875, in the seventy-ninth
year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry.
Fourth Minis/er.—] AMES MoNTEiTH, from Howgate. Ordained, 26th
April 1843, the stipend being much as before. During 1846 the debt, which
had increased to ^300, was cleared off by a vigorous effort, the friend who
took the lead giving ^^loo, and two brothers giving ^40 between them. But
the congregation, though freed from the encumbrance of debt, did not ad-
vance, partly owing to the strength of the Free Church, and on i6th October
1877 Mr Monteith's resignation, tendered owing to infirm health, was ac-
cepted, the people agreeing to give him ^10 for three years out of their
slender resources. The membership at this time was only about 70. Mr
Monteith afterwards removed to Edinburgh, where he joined Morningside
540 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Church, and died, 27th June 1891, having completed the seventy-ninth year
of his age the day before.
Fifth Minister. — John Black, from Glasgow (now Woodlands Road).
Called previously to Belfast, Lumsden, and Alva. Ordained, 6th May 1878,
and died, 14th April 1889, in the forty-fifth year of his age and eleventh of
his ministry.
Sixth Minister. — Henry B. Gray, M.A., from Ibrox, Glasgow. Ordained,
19th November 1889. Under Mr Gray's ministry the congregation pro-
gressed considerably, and in the beginning of 1900 he announced to the
Presbytery that by means of a bazaar they had raised over ^1300, which,
after meeting the renovation of the church, left ^440 for hall accommodation.
On 2nd October 1900 Mr Gray intimated to Paisley Presbytery that he had
accepted an invitation to become minister of St Andrew's, Auckland, New
Zealand, and, much to the regret of his congregation, the relation between
him and Lochwinnoch was dissolved. There was a membership now of 157,
and the stipend from the people was ^130, with the manse.
KILMALCOLM (United Presbyterian)
This congregation was the outcome of a persistent struggle against the law
of Patronage, three patrons and three presentees being withstood in succes-
sion. A beginning was made when a certain Mr Russell, who seems to have
been an ordained minister, received and accepted the presentation. Resist-
ance was offered, but he died before the merits were pronounced on. An-
other patron then appointed the Rev. William Law of Auldfield Chapel, near
Pollokshaws, to the living, but again objections were tendered, most of which
the Presbytery of Greenock sustained. The case passed to the Synod,
which took the other side, and then to the Assembly, one special complaint
against the presentee being that he had been unsuccessful in two charges
already. In the court of last resort Principal Tulloch spoke warmly in
favour of the objectors, and by a vote of no to 71 the door was closed
against the presentee. A heritor of the parish, who had been stoutly
opposed to Mr Law, now acquired the patronage, and presented the Rev.
Alexander Leek of Martyrs Chapel, Glasgow, who proved less acceptable to
the people generally than either of the other two had been. They com-
plained that owing to an impediment in his speech it was difficult to make
out what he said, and he was also disqualified by his lameness for overtaking
the pastoral work of a large parish like that of Kilmalcolm. But to give the
objectors another victory would have been like nullifying Patronage alto-
gether, and it was also understood that Mr Leek had done good work in
Glasgow, and the General Assembly instructed the Presbytery of Greenock
to proceed with the induction without delay, which was done on 30th July
1858.
On 7th September a petition for sermon came up from Kilmalcolm to the
LT.P. Presbytery of Greenock. The paper was signed by 245 persons, of
whom 138 were members of the Established Church, and 20 were United
Presbyterians. The Sabbath on which Mr Leek was introduced to his new
charge Mr Alison of Kilbarchan had preached by request at Kilmalcolm.
They met in what had been the Reformed Presbyterian church, which was
unoccupied now through the congregation having changed its seat to Port-
Glasgow. The attendance was large, and services had been kept up during
the intervening Sabbaths. The building they were to have for a year free of
expense from the proprietor, who was one of themselves, and of the 400
sittings all but 25 had been let. On 19th October a Presbyterial Committee
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 541
reported that 116 persons after being conversed with had been admitted to
membership, and these were now formed into a congregation. This was
followed on 23rd January 1859 by the ordination of seven elders, and in May
a unanimous call was addressed to the Rev. William Sprott of Alexandria,
who declined. There was a membership now of 160, and the stipend pro-
mised was ^125, with a house. At the end of the first year the managers'
books brought out an income of ^221.
First Minister. — Jame.s Eckford Fyke, from Newbigging, Dundee, a
nephew of Mr John Eckford, a former minister there. Ordained, 27th
March i860, having declined a call to Kiilaig, Ireland, a considerable time
before. On 8th June 1862 a new church, with sittings for 450, and built at a
cost of ^1250, was opened by Professor Eadie, and a manse was added in
1865 at an additional cost of ^750, for which the Board allowed ^^250. With
this exception the heavy expenditure seems to have been met by the people
and their friends without drawing from central funds. In 1879 there were
\ ery nearly 300 names on the communion roll, and the stipend was up to
^200, with the manse. During the discussions in the General Assembly on
the disputed settlement at Kilmalcolm that parish was credited with being
in a sunk condition spiritually. Reviving came, and a waking up to activity
by the formation of a vigorous dissenting congregation under a minister of
their own choice. Mr Fyfe, after doing good work at Kilmalcolm for thirty-
eight years, died, 3rd October 1898, in the sixty-fifth year of his age. The
Rev. D. Ritchie Key was called soon after from London Road, Edinburgh,
but declined.
Second Minister. — Alexander J. B. Paterson, M.A., from Duns
(East), where he was ordained as colleague to Dr Ritchie eight years before.
Inducted, 25th May 1899. The stipend was to be ^300, with the manse, and
there was a membership of 300 or thereby.
RENFREW (United Presbyterian)
Availing themselves of openings for evangelistic work the Presbytery ot
Paisley and Greenock decided on i6th April 1861 to begin evening services
in a hall at Renfrew on the following Sabbath, when they hoped to ascertain
what facilities there might be for permanent operations there. At their
June meeting 41 persons sent in a petition for the erection of a preaching
station in the place, and it was agreed to hold regular diets of public
worship during the day, with the concurrence and aid of the Mission Board.
A local committee now intimated that they expected to raise j/94 for current
expenses during the )'ear, which was nearly three-fourths of the sum re-
quired, and on the first Sabbath of September the town hall, with larger
capacity, was entered on as the place of meeting. On 4th March 1862 a
congregation of 35 members was formed, 21 of these from U.P. congrega-
tions in Paisley, 1 1 from other denominations, and 3 by examination. The
first-named group may be taken as exhausting the denominational element
in Renfrew, other families having connected themselves with other churches.
In June three elders were elected, and in due time ordained. The young
congregation, after having Mr Mungo GifFen located among them for some
months, had a succession of preachers, and in October 1863 a moderation
was applied for. In their unsettled state there had been little progress
made, the names on the communion roll being set down at 50 and the
average attendance at 65.
First Minister.— ]oWA HUTCHISON, B.A.,from Renfield Street, Glasgow.
(Ordained, i6th February 1864. In June 1865 the new church was opened,
542
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
with sittings for 500, and in 1869 a commodious manse was added, at a cost
of ^1300, fully three-fourths of which was raised by the people, and ^320
came as a grant from the Manse Board. The total outlay was put down
at over ^3000. In 1874 Mr Hutchison, whose scholarly attainments were
widely known, received the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University, and
on 1 6th January 1877 he accepted a call to the newly-formed congregation
of Bonnington, Leith. Renfrew had a membership now of 133, and they
were to give a stipend of ^180, with the manse, and travelling expenses.
In a few months they called Mr James M. Scott, who declined, having decided
to accept Waterbeck. They next called Mr Alexander Borland, who soon
after obtained Cumbernauld.
Second Minister. — Charles Moves, from Glasgow (now Cathedral
Square). Ordained, i8th September 1878, having set aside Muirkirk shortly
before. After long and gradual decline of strength there came a period of
sick-supply, and then resignation under a medical certificate that he ought
not to resume work in Scotland. The demission was accepted, 3rd Nov-
ember 1885. His design was to set out for Australia, but the Colonial
Committee did not feel at liberty to appoint him owing to the state of his
health. Contributions, however, were being raised to secure the end con-
templated, when Mr Moyes died on 25th December, in the fortieth year
of his age and eighth of his ministry.
Third Minister.— ]onii P. Hogarth, M.A., son of the Rev. Robert
Hogarth, Ivy Place, Stranraer. Ordained, ist June 1886. Towards the
close of the next year the proceeds of a bazaar cleared the debt of ^1000 on
the property, leaving a goodly surplus over, and an addition of ^50 was
afterwards made to the stipend, which, with ^40 from the Ferguson Bequest,
raised it to ^203, with the manse. Since then Sabbath-school halls have
been erected, larger sitting accommodation has been provided in the
church, and the membership, which was 168 at Mr Hogarth's ordination,
had reached 508 at the Union, while the church funds yielded a stipend of
-^263.
LANGBANK (United Presbyterian)
Langbank is a village in Erskine parish, with a population which has kept
between 400 and 500 during the last fifty years. The parish minister in
the earlier part of the century was the Rev. Andrew Stewart, M.D., a
brother of Dr John Stewart, Secession minister. Mount Pleasant, Liverpool,
and of the Rev. David Stewart of Stirling. Having joined the Establishment
he was presented to Bolton, in East Lothian, by Lord Blantyre in 1804, and
was transferred by the favour of the same nobleman to Erskine in 1809.
Before his ordination he had the medical diploma, and afterwards acquired
distinction in that department of study. He has been described as "the
author of the bracing or antiphlogistic mode of treatment in consumptive
cases, which is now almost universally adopted." Through his skill the
Hon. Margaret Stewart, eldest daughter of his patron, Lord Blantyre, was
cured of pulmonary disease, and in 1809 they were married. He died in
1839, aged sixty-four, his son, the Rev. Robert Walter Stewart, having been
ordained two years before as his colleague and successor. At this time
dissent had scarcely a foothold in Erskine parish, as in 1842 there were
only 3 belonging to the Secession and 4 to the Relief among the whole
population, young and old. Mr Stewart came out at the Disruption, resigned
his charge in 1845, and is best remembered now as Dr Stewart of the Free
Church Mission at Leghorn, Italy. He was Moderator of the Free Assembly
in 1874, and died at Leghorn, 23rd November 1887. As Dr Stewart's
PRESBYTERY OF PAISLEY 543
mother was a daughter of Lord Blantyre, his wife was a daughter of Lord
Cockburn.
On 5th December 1865 the Rev. James E. Fyfe of Kilmalcolm suggested
to the Presbytery of Paisley and Greenock the propriety of opening a
preaching station at Langbank, and on the 19th a committee of their
number reported that they had met with 7 residenters in that village ; that
a local committee had been formed ; and that half of the inhabitants seemed
favourable to the movement. The result was that Dr M'Farlane of Greenock
preached there on the second Sabbath of January 1866, when the collection
amounted to £2;^. On 17th April 24 certified members were formed into a
congregation, and in July the induction of four elders was reported.
Firsl Minister. — James Mather, from Eaglesham. Called first to
Balfron and then to Dundee (Bell Street) ; but in the latter case there was
want of harmony, and Mr Mather made choice of Langbank instead.
Ordained, 26th March 1867, the call being signed by 33 members and 32
adherents, and the ordinary attendance placed at 100. The stipend was
to be .^155. On Thursday, 26th May 1867, the new church, with 300
sittings, was opened by Dr Eadie, and the collections that day and on the
following Sabbath reached ^100. The cost of the building was ^1300, and
the last of the debt, amounting to ^245, was cleared off in 1870, with the
help of a grant of .^100 from the Liquidation Board. But the erection of
a manse followed, and it proved a more formidable affair. The expense
was estimated at ^900, of which the Board was to pay one-third, but in
the end it reached ^1445, and as the Board kept by their ^300 the other
;^545 behoved to be met in some way by the people. On 17th January
1882 Mr Mather, who was now a widower, resigned his charge, and retired
with his family to Lasswade. Next year he entered on probationer life
anew, and in 1885 he was inducted to his present charge at Dairy, in
Galloway.
Second Minister. — ARCHIBALD B. D. ALEXANDER, M.A., from Helens-
burgh. Having declined Stow he was ordained at Langbank, 27th July
1882. In the following year the debt of ^960 resting on the property was
liquidated, ^760 being raised by the people, and ^200 received from the
Board. The membership at the beginning of 1900 was 90, and the stipend
^200, with the manse. The prospects of increasing population, entertained
when the church was formed, have not been realised, and the communion
roll has kept at a low figure in proportion to the income.
BRIDGE OF WEIR (United Presbyterian)
A station was opened on Sabbath, 12th January 1890, by the Rev. George
Alison of Kilbarchan. This was arranged for by Paisley Presbytery in the
line of Church Extension, and it had been ascertained that suitable premises
were to be had on easy terms. The village had a population of about 1600,
and it had become within recent years a favourite resort for Glasgow mer-
chants, who brought with them a large infusion of the U.P. element. Some
£,(x) had already been raised to meet necessary expenses, and the cause was
put at once under the supervision of Kilbarchan session, certain ministers
being conjoined with them as assessors. Through this medium sealing
ordinances were to be dispensed to all qualified persons in attendance. On
9th February it was announced in the Presbytery that Mr Adam Wilson,
probationer, had been secured to conduct the Sabbath services, and on the
evening of 15th June the committee met at Bridge of Weir by appointment,
and formed 52 Church members into a congregation.
544
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
First Minister. — ADAM WiLSON, B.D., son of the Rev. Andrew Wilson
of Drymen. Ordained, i8th December 1890. The stipend was to be ^200^
including everything. On 23rd May 1891 the memorial stone of a new
church was laid, of which the cost was estimated at ^^2500, and of this sum
all except ^350 was already subscribed, so that the building almost to a
certainty would be opened free of debt. At the close of 1899 there was a
membership of 163, and the stipend was ^250.
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH
PERTH (Associate)
First Minister. — ^William Wilson, a native of Glasgow, and the son of
covenanting parents. Ordained, ist November 1716, as one of three col-
leagues who preached in each of the two town churches by rotation. Full
particulars of Mr Wilson's life were first given to the world in 1830 by his
great-grandson, the Rev. Andrew Ferrier of Newarthill, and since then in
more compact and artistic form by Dr Eadie in one of the volumes of the
" United Presbyterian Fathers." On Sabbath, i8th May 1740, Mr Wilson
was debarred from his pulpit by order of the magistrates of Perth, and
this completed the severance between him and the Established Church,
There had, however, been a rupture in the session prior to this, arising
from the ordination of Mr David Black as one of the town ministers. He
was the choice of the Magistrates and Town Council, and on that footing
he was ordained, 14th June 1737, but when his name was entered on the
roll of session 14 members protested and left the meeting. These after-
wards formed a distinct session, with Mr Wilson as their moderator. Later
on 3 others joined them, so that their number was increased to 17, leaving"
only 9 behind. On Thursday, 20th November 1740, the church erected for
Mr Wilson was opened by holding the week-day service in it "at nine
o'clock in the morning, being the ordinary time." Ne.\t summer " lofts "
were needed, and three collections, yielding about ^80, were taken to meet
expenses.
During the three years between the constituting of a separate session
and his exclusion from the Established Church, Mr Wilson occupied an
anomalous position. He preached as before in the tMo town churches
when his turn came, but there being three ministers for the two pulpits
he was disengaged, forenoon and afternoon alternately, two Sabbaths out
of every three. On these occasions he conducted public worship in the
Glovers' Yard, and there he likewise dispensed the Lord's Supper to his
own adherents on communion Sabbaths. There also he had preached on
the forenoon of the Sabbath on which, when afternoon came, he found the
church gates closed against him. " Having twice demanded admission he
retired, and went to the Glovers' Yard, and the people followed him without
the least disturbance or indecency." But Mr Wilson's days were now draw-
ing to a close. In labours he had been over-abundant, ministering to a
large congregation, training the students, and upholding with his pen the
Secession cause. He died, 14th November 1741, in the fifty-first year of
his age and twenty-sixth of his ministry.
Of the four Fathers of the Secession William Wilson is the only one in
whom Burghers and Antiburghers could claim an equal interest. It used,
indeed, to be said that, had he lived, his weight of character and moderation
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 545
in counsel might have availed to prevent " the mournful rupture." From a
letter to the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff by a member of Perth Burgher
session it would appear that Mr Wilson saw dangers ahead, and was in-
strumental in keeping Mr Moncrieff and others from going to extremes
with regard to terms of communion.
Second Mtnisier.~G¥.OKGK Brown, born at Carkettle, in the parish of
Lasswade, as a manuscript in his own handwriting states. On 12th August
1740 a paper of accession was given in to the Associate Presbytery from
Roshnlee, and one of the subscribers was George Brown, student of divinity
Ordained at Perth, 26th August 1742, the call being signed by 275 male
communicants. A prior call from Haddington had been set aside in the
interests of Perth congregation, which required "to have an able, faithful
and well-quahfied minister set over them as soon as possible " When the
controversy about the Burgess Oath began to stir, xMr Brown did his utmost
to keep the question from being plunged into the Synod, apprehendintr
calamitous results," but in the end he sided with those who pronounced
Wie swearing of the Oath sinful. At the first meeting of session after the
Breach two of the elders protested against the disorderly step Mr Brown
had taken in breaking away from his brethren, and he protested that he
could not sit longer in session with these two men. At next meeting Mr
Brown began by pressing the question whether they were to constitute
in subordination to the Antiburgher Synod. The majority answered in the
negative, whereupon he withdrew, and along with him five elders and one
deacon. The number remaining was eleven, and four took the same side
who, for special reasons, had ceased to officiate. The names of other three
disappear from the records altogether about that time.
At this point the history of the Secession cause in Perth divides itself
into two. For the sake of continuity we keep by Mr Brown, and take the
Antiburgher section first.
PERTH, NORTH (Antihurgher)
For eighteen months Mr Brown kept possession of Wilson Church pulpit
and then comes the following entry in his manuscript book :—" Excluded by
the Burghers, 27th October 1748. Having preached a year in the yard I
possessed to such as continued with me I entered into another church
built by them, 29th October 1749." His reduced session had been enlarged
through the addition of elders and deacons from the parishes around— three
from Rhynd, two from Kinnoul, two from Tibbermuir, one from Dumbarnie
and one from Aberdalgie. Three others afterwards took their seats, so
that the members were eighteen in all. This arrangement gave the North
Church a hold over Seceders in surrounding parishes such as the rival
congregation never possessed. In the early part of 1761 Mr Brown was
for the most part laid aside from public work, and he died on Tuesday, nth
August 1 761, in the forty-fifth year of his age and nineteenth of his ministry
He has recorded that he was married in 1744 to Margaret Heugh, "daughter
of the late Rev. John Heugh, minister of Kingoldrum, in Angus." Their
son Colin was long minister at Abernethy.
Though Mr Brown took no prominent part in the Burgess Oath Contro-
versy he was Moderator of Synod in August 1749, when excommunication was
pronounced on certain of the "separating brethren." A newspaper records
how on that occasion he rose from his Chair and read the wrathful sentence
during which time he was seized with such a panic of trembling that his
language could scarcely be understood by the auditory. Mrs Brown was
II. 2 M
546
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
one of three sisters who became the wives of Antiburgher ministers, and her
brother, the Rev. John Heugh, father of Dr Heugh of Glasgow, was Anti-
burgher minister of Stirling. She died at Perth, 3rd July 1812, in the
eighty-eighth year of her age, and during her long widowhood she was
partially provided for by the North congregation.
Third Minister.— Ai^^XK^d^k Troup, who had been fifteen years
minister at Elgin. On the moderation day he was carried by an over-
whelming majority over three other ordained ministers. The induction took
place, 8th March 1763. The congregation had now become oppressively
large, and there was some talk about making the charge collegiate. Mr
Troup died, nth February 1773, in the fifty-eighth year of his age and the
tenth year of his ministry at Perth. It is recorded that he was beloved of all
denominations, and that his funeral "was attended by the largest assemblage
of the kind that was ever seen in the town."
After being vacant a year and a half the congregation called Mr Andrew
Thomson, son of the minister at Mearns, and the call was signed by 534
(male) members ; but Mr Thomson was already on trials for ordination as
his father's colleague, and the Synod confirmed that arrangement.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Pringle, from Morebattle. Three
other probationers were nominated along with him, but their united supporters
only amounted to 23, and most of these acquiesced in the choice of the
majority. But another call came up to Mr Pringle from Moniaive, signed
by 44 male members in contrast with fully 500, and Perth being preferred,
Mr Pringle was ordained, 14th August 1777. The Synod recommended the
people to provide a colleague for him as soon as possible, and they also
enjoined them "to lessen their present place of worship on account of its
excessive largeness, and to fit up two commodious houses in which it might
be no hardship for ministers to speak." This brings us to outline the
history of five abortive calls, stretching over a period of ten years.
The first call came out in favour of Mr James Aitken, who had been
brought up in the North Church ; but it was far from harmonious, the
opposition being ascribed by some to the fact that he was of humble
parentage. Mr Aitken was at the same time called with unanimity to
Kirriemuir, and the Presbytery decided to send him thither. The Synod
upheld this decision, and the two parties in Perth church were enjoined "to
bury in oblivion all animosities and heart-burnings, and live and love as
brethren." The next they called was Mr Ebenezer Russell, a preacher from
Falkirk or Cumbernauld. Accessions to the membership were numerous at
this time, 119 being received within two months, and all looked bright, but
an arrest came in a form which admitted of neither remonstrance nor protest.
Mr Russell had shown symptoms of weak health before he was licensed,
and now " a violent cold terminating in a speedy consumption seized him,
and put an end to his work on earth." So says the Preface to a little volume
of his discourses, which was published after his death. The third they
called was Mr John Jamieson, afterwards Dr Jamieson of Nicolson Street,
Edinburgh ; but he had been already appointed by the Synod to Forfar,
and the call seems to have been quietly set aside. The fourth call was
addressed to Mr James Hay after a pause of three years ; but as it was
somewhat divided, and as he was already on trials for ordination at Alyth,
the Presbytery refused to sustain it. The Synod allowed the two calls to
be brought into competition, and then 26 voted for Alyth with its 40 names,
and only 9 for Perth with twelve times that number. Thwarted in their
endeavours to obtain a second minister Perth congregation decided to be
done with preachers. The managers by a majority forbade the Treasurer
to pay for supply, and Mrs Troup was also instructed not to give them
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 547
maintenance at the congregation's expense, and as the preacher's pony had
to be entertained as well as himself they ordered the hay loft to be locked
up. But by-and-by a better spirit asserted itself; only, Mr Pringle was
recommended to see " that any probationers who may be sent here are such
as may be heard through the church." The way was opened up now for
the fifth call. They made choice, with apparent unanimity, of the Rev. James
M'Ewan, formerly of Workington, Cumberland. At the Synod the vote lay
between Perth and Dundee, and it carried in favour of Dundee. An
explosion of bitter feeling followed, of which Mr Pringle was in some
measure the object, the impression being that he was averse to have Mr
M'Ewan for his colleague. It verifies what Dr Young has said about the
vexation Dr Pringle experienced through one party or another accusing him
of opposing their wishes.
Fifth Minister. — Richard Black, from Urr. Though the call was
accompanied by a petition from 93 members not to sustain, the Presbytery
decided to go straight on, and the Synod confirmed that decision, the counter-
motion being for delay, " that it may be properly ascertained whether he be
sufficiently heard in the church at Perth, that being the chief or only
objection." Ordained, 3rd April 1787. In view of that event there was a
proposal to fit up a second church, the plea being that, "as we are going
to get two ministers, they did not think it for edification that they should
both be employed in one house." A meeting was held to consider the matter,
when " Delay " carried, and the proposal was laid upon the shelf for ever.
The need for a second church must have been perceptibly lessened since
the Synod's injunction was issued. Craigend congregation had been formed
in 1780, making a large encroachment on the membership, and in 1785 the
Relief got footing in Perth, and now the " Lifters," taking advantage of
the opposition to Mr Black's settlement, were also putting up a place of
worship. So the two colleagues were to occupy the one pulpit and divide
the work between them. In view of Mr Black's ordination it was agreed
that he should have ^80 a year, without a manse, or, if he chose to possess
the flat designed for a dwelling-house, the money to be ;^70. Six years
afterwards Mr Pringle, who had a wife and family, was to receive ^100, and
Mr Black, who was unmarried, ^80, along with a flat to each minister. In
1806 the stipend of both colleagues was raised to ^130.
A paragraph is here given on the money affairs of the North Church.
When Mr Wilson was put out of the Established Church it was decided to
pay him his former stipend of 1000 pounds Scots, or ^83, 6s. 8d. sterling. The
figure continued much the same for over forty years — ;^8o, with allowances,
and occasional extras when thought to be required. In those days the
raising of the stipend was left with the managers, and came mostly from
seat rents, which were fixed at very moderate rates, and were often irregularly
paid. As for the ordinary church-door collections, they were understood
to be devoted to the poor — a system which the first Seceders brought with
them from the Established Church. In this way one source of congrega-
tional revenue was nearly dried up. In Perth, for example, in the early
part of Mr Pringle's ministry, the Sabbath collections did not average 30s.
The impression would be that this sufficed to meet the requirements of
charity, and hence the greater part of the congregation gave nothing at
all. The contributions were on a very different scale when special demands
were made. Thus in 1755 there was a collection of 13 guineas for Dundee
and Errol, "to assist in building houses for public worship." Similarly, in
the early part of the century, an appeal for aid came from Stronsay, and
the session appointed a collection to be taken at the evening service, and
it brought ^40. Congregations from far and near appealed to Perth in
548
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
straits or emergencies. It was the strong helping the weak in days when
central funds were scarcely thought of.
Messrs Pringle and Black wrought on together with a large measure of
harmony till the question of Union between the two great branches of the
Secession emerged, and then Dr Pringle (he received the degree of D.D.
from Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1819) became an active member of
the Union Committee, while Mr Black was foremost in the ranks of dissent.
The Union was consummated on Friday, 8th September 1820, and of the
nine ministers who had protested against the adoption of the Basis the
Chrtstiatt Magazine says : "All abstained from a present ruptur.e, and
craved time for further consideration, if we except, perhaps, one — the Rev.
R(ichard) B(lack) of P(erth)." Mr Black never entered the pulpit of the
North Church again, and, amidst grief and reluctance, matters moved on
to a formal separation. Dr Pringle wrote to a friend : " What shall I tell
you ? My good colleague has begun to preach by himself. I really feel
much disappointed and sorry that he has taken this step. Long intercourse
and harmony had brought us into settled friendship." Six weeks after the
Union the session complained to the Presbytery that Mr Black had deserted
his place as one of their ministers, and three of his former brethren were
appointed to converse with him. At next meeting they reported that he
felt he could not take his seat in the United Presbytery of Perth without
violating his Covenant engagements. The pastoral tie between him and the
North Church, Perth, was dissolved, 21st November 1820.
From the records of the Original Secession congregation of Perth, almost
illegible through decay, we have the means of tracing the course of events
from Mr Black's standpoint. On the Sabbath before the Synod he read
a paper from the pulpit declaring that he would not go into the United
Church, "and warning the people of the danger of apostasy from their good
profession." "A place of public worship," Mr Black continues, "was
providentially found, with much ease. Only one elder came away from the
old session, though several were far from satisfied." They met in Paul's
Chapel, which had been built by the " Lifters," and after they broke up had
passed through many vicissitudes. The elder who followed Mr Black was
Alexander Grimmond. They were joined forthwith by Thomas Smith, an
elder from Craigend, the grandfather of the Rev. William Smith, Bonhill,
so that a quorum was obtained. Professor Paxton assisted at the first
communion, and there were three tables with about 40 at each. In the
following year they built a church, costing ^1000, of which ^500 was con-
tributed by the minister. In 1836 they had a membership of 170, being
exactly 1000 fewer than those in the congregation they had left.
Sixth Minister. — David Young, from Methven, a preacher widely
known already as a man of massive intellect and large possibilities. Though
he was not to be supplying within the bounds the North Church secured
him for a Sabbath in January 1821, and then for another some time after.
In March he was called, and it was stated in the public prints that "the
anxious unanimity displayed by the people was almost unprecedented in so
large a congregation." At the Synod Perth was preferred to Arbroath and
Barrhead, two other calls from Carnoustie and Lochwinnoch having been
set aside by their respective Presbyteries. From this decision Mr Ferrier
of Paisley dissented, because the hearings of Mr Young by the congregation
of Perth "were obtained by irregular, private interference." Mr Young was
ordained, 17th July 1821. The stipend of each minister was to be^i8o,
with a house, and payment of all public burdens. In 1839 Mr Young
obtained the degree of D.D. from Washington College, Pennsylvania. Dr
Pringle died, 12th May 1839, in the sixty-second year of his ministry. In
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 549
his Memoir, by Dr Young, we read of a farewell meeting between the two
aged ministers, who had long been colleagues, but had parted asunder
by the way. Dr Pringle was now in his eighty-seventh year, and on his
death-bed, and Mr Black was eighty-four. On the river's brink the sever-
ance of nineteen years was forgotten, and heart joined with heart among
the gathering shadows. Mr Black died five months afterwards, on 28th
October 1839.
Dr Pringle was a son-in-law of Mr Moncrieff of Culfargie. A daughter
of his was the wife of the Rev. John Jameson of Methven. We recall her
husband's words after her death : " The voice of my sweet psalm-singer,
which gave rapture to my family worship, has ceased, and the heart that
beat for me beats no more." Dr Pringle's son William, after itinerating
some years as a probationer, went to America. He was ordained at Rygate,
Caledonia, Vermont, 29th June 1830, and retired, 21st June 1852. He died
suddenly, of heart disease, 14th December" 1858, while sitting at the break-
fast table. He is described as a man of scholarly attainments, but was held
back as a preacher by a bad delivery. Reference may also be made to two
nephews of Dr Pringle — not brothers, but cousins — the Rev. James Pringle
of Newcastle, and Thomas Pringle, a literary man of fine tastes and poetic
gifts, best known for his tender verses, beginning :
" My native land, my native vale !
A long, a last adieu ! "
After Dr Pringle's death Dr Young went on with the work for a dozen
years single-handed, and during that period the debt on the property, which
amounted to ^i 100, gradually melted away. The stipends had been raised
to ^200 some years before Dr Pringle died, and Dr Young's was now ^300.
In 1850 it was arranged to have the collegiate state resumed, and a second
minister procured, but six years passed before the object was accomplished.
Dr Young was now over sixty-five, and it was time to have his labours
lightened. It should have been mentioned earlier that a new church was
opened in 1792, costing ^1000, exclusive of the money received for old
material. To meet the outlay subscription papers were sent through the
several districts ; but the yield was far short of the requirements, "a consider-
able number known to be able having given nothing." This, along with a
burden resting already on the dwelling-house, where the two ministers lived
under one roof, and outlay for session premises, accounts for the debt referred
to above.
Here, again, the history of five unsuccessful calls has to be outlined.
The first was signed by 696 members and protested against by 117. It was
in favour of Dr Young's nephew, Mr David Young, and the argument urged
against it was that Mr Young had never preached as a candidate. The
Presbytery sustained the call, and the Synod upheld this decision, but added,
on the general question, " that in a matter of so much importance it is highly
desirable and proper that congregations should have a distinct understanding
as to the steps they are taking." But Mr Young had already accepted
Milnathort. At the next moderation two candidates were proposed — Dr
Jeffrey of Denny, and Mr John M'Laren, probationer, afterwards of Cow-
caddens, Glasgow. The voting was very close, there being 359 for the
former and 352 for the latter. The spirit of an earlier period had now
wakened up in the church, and the call was declined. Another followed
eight or nine months afterwards to Dr Jeffrey, with signatures up from 609
to 690, but it only brought a second refusal. The fourth call was addressed
to Mr W. R. Thomson, but he accepted Bethelfield, Kirkcaldy ; and the fifth
550 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to Mr James Parlane, who feared to undertake so weighty a charge, and was
afterwards ordained over the West Church, Hawick.
Seventh Minister. — Robert Cameron, from Abbey Close, Paisley.
Called very harmoniously, and ordained, 29th October 1856, much to the
gratification of Dr Young. The troubles of the last six years were to be
remembered "as waters that have passed away," but in six weeks the Doctor
was dead. On the afternoon of Tuesday, 9th December, after a brief illness,
"he turned himself on his left side, arranged the bedclothes with his right
hand^fell asleep," and in a little while breathed his last. He was in the
seventy-third year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. A volume of
his discourses was published in 1858 with Memoir by his son-in-law, the
Rev. Wm. Marshall, Coupar-Angus. Dr Young was the author of Introductory
Essays to " Edwards on the Religious Affections," and similar works in
CoUins' Series of Select Christian Authors, which Essays were afterwards
collected into a volume by themselves. He also wrote the Life of the Rev.
Alexander Moncriefif in the "United Presbyterian Fathers," and Memoirs of
his colleague, Dr Pringle, and of the Rev. John Jameson of Methven. In
the Voluntary Controversy Dr Young took a prominent part both on the
platform and by his pen, and at a later period he warmly opposed all
grants of public money either for schools or for churches. To Dr James
Taylor's objection that by identifying State aid to education with State aid
to religion he was loading Voluntaryism with a weight it is unable to bear,
he replied : " If it be expense which alarms, will the expense be lessened by
drawing it through the windings of Her Majesty's exchequer?" And with
regard to the training aUke of old and young he concluded by saying : "It
is moral renovation that we require ; and if moral renovation is to come
from the State our history is a fable and our experience a dream." Mention
may be here made of a powerful lecture of Dr Young's on " The Tendency
of a Pure and Free Christianity to Leaven the Politics of Nations."
In the end of 1859 Mr Cameron was called to Egremont, Liverpool, but
decided, perhaps in opposition to his better judgment, to remain in Perth.
The call being repeated half-a-year later was accepted, 5th June i860. He
told the congregation that the charge was more than his strength could bear,
and they refrained from urging him further, while cherishing towards him
strong affection. Mr Cameron was translated to Cambridge Street, Glasgow,
in 1864.
Eighth Minister. — James M'Owan, M.A., who had been ordained at
Bannockburn a year and a half before. Inducted, 7th May 1861. Called to
Eglinton Street, Glasgow, in 1863, and to John Street in 1865, but declined
both calls. On 9th February 1875 ^^ M'Owan's resignation was accepted,
the people acquiescing "in consequence of his deliberate and fixed purpose,"
bearing testimony at the same time to his high pulpit abilities. Before the
end of the year he was inducted into St Andrews.
Perth congregation called the Rev. David Macrae of Gourock, the stipend
offered being ^400, but he did not accept. Their next endeavour trenched
on the romantic. They petitioned the Synod in May 1876 to clear the way
for the admission of a young minister from Ireland into the United Presby-
terian Church. This was the Rev. J. L. Rintoul of Lisburn, who had
preached to them on the preceding Sabbath, and had taken them by storm.
But after being received as a United Presbyterian minister, and before an-
other step could be taken, Mr Rintoul * wrote his friends in Perth that he
* Mr Rintoul was a son of the Rev. J. L. Rintoul, Ballymoney, and a member of
a many-branched clerical family in the Irish Presbyterian Church. He was ordained
at Lisburn, 17th October 1872, from which he passed to the English Presbyterian
Church, St George's, Sunderland. In 1893 ^^ became parish minister of Cam bus-
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 551
could not accept their call ; that the magnitude of the work forbade him.
There remained nothing now for the North congregation but to commence
hearing candidates anew.
Ninth Minister. — Robert Lyon, who had been colleague for twelve
years to Dr Harper, North Leith. Inducted, 30th January 1877, the stipend
being ^500, with sundry allowances. On Sabbath, nth November 1880, a
new church was opened, with sittings for 1200, and built at a cost of ^7000.
Of this large sum ^5000 had been previously raised, and of the rest not more
than ^200 or ^300 remained at the Union, which, along with debt since
contracted for the erection of a hall, is covered by income derived from
outside property. After a period of broken health and severe family affliction
Mr Lyon died, 6th September 1896, in the sixty-third year of his age and
thirty-second of his ministry.
Te7ith Minister. — J. W. D. Carruthers, M.A., translated from
Stewarton, where he had laboured six years. Inducted, 31st March 1897.
The membership at the close of 1899 was about 950, and the stipend some-
what over ^450.
PERTH, WILSON CHURCH (Burgher)
On 1 2th April 1748 a petition for advice was presented to the Burgher
Presbytery of the bounds from a majority of Perth session. They stated
that their minister, " Mr Brown, was still proceeding in his separating
courses." Their first meeting as a Burgher session was held on Monday,
24th October, Ralph Erskine, who had conducted services at a tent on the
previous day, being Moderator. On the following Thursday Mr Brown and
his adherents were interdicted from occupying the church, and from this
time forward sermon was supplied by the Burgher Presbytery almost every
Sabbath either at Perth or Sc^one. In September 1749 a call was addressed
to Mr Hutton of Stow, but the Synod appointed him to Dalkeith.
First Minister. — John Jervie, from Stirling. Ordained, 21st March
1751, the Synod having set aside a prior call to Ballybay, in Ireland. Perth
call was signed by 175 members. Understanding these to have been male
members we cannotestimate the communion roll at less than 400. Theordinary
collections were about two-thirds of what they had been before the severance.
In Penny's History of Perth it is stated that Mr Jervie's sermons were of
a very primitive stamp, and also that "he was for many years troubled with
gout, and had to preach from a high stool." Owing to his frequent indis-
position the congregation in August 1779 asked the Presbytery to grant
them a moderation for a colleague, Mr Jervie, who was only a few years over
fifty, going heartily into the movement. It was Andrew Swanston they had
in their eye, a son of Professor Swanston, who got licence only three weeks
before. At a meeting in January 1780 Mr Swanston finished his trials ; but
the ordination had to be delayed, and not till October 1781 did this state
of suspense come to an end. Here now was a letter from him explaining
that he gave up any right his licence might be supposed to confer to teach
publicly in the Church of Christ. The letter being referred to the Synod
he was pronounced out of connection.
Of Andrew Swanston it is explained that, towards the close of his student
course, he passed through a period of spiritual conflict, and it is to be feared
that, though he came forth victorious from the struggle, the inner balance
nethan, and died there, 13th July, 1900. "Mr Rintoul," says the Rev. W. T.
Latimer, "had a very powerful voice and great oratorical talent. He was conse-
quently a most popular preacher, and almost certain of success in any vacancy when
he got a place on the list."
552 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
was disturbed. At first there was only a recoil from Presbyterianism to
Independency, but from that he went on to Baptist views. Then, some
difference having arisen between him and his co-religionists, he was ex-
cluded from their society. He died at Glasgow on 15th November 1784,
in the thirty-third year of his age, a cold which he caught when away
preaching having passed into consumption. A volume of his discourses,
with Memoir by the Rev. David Greig of Lochgelly, was published in 1800,
and a second followed some time after. Another fellow-student of his, after-
wards known as Professor Lawson, wrote him after he had left the Burgher
communion : " Whatever your connections are you will find them to be
men like us ; in heaven only you will find perfection of goodness ; and there
I hope we shall in a short time be, never to be separated, or to entertain
discordant thoughts any more."
After these two years of hope deferred Perth congregation called Mr
George Hill on 2nd May 1782 ; but his ordination at Cumbernauld was
already fixed for the i6th, and for this reason, and also for want of un-
animity, the call was not sustained.
Second Minister. — Jedidiah Aikman, from Currie parish, and Bristo
congregation, Edinburgh. " The call was signed by 256 members, or nearly
100 fewer than the number enthusiasm had secured for Andrew Swanston.
Mr Jervie was to have ^75, the same as before, and Mr Aikman ^^70. The
junior minister was to conduct two of the three services each Sabbath, and
the senior was to take forenoon and afternoon alternately. Mr Aikman was
ordained, 3rd June 1783, Mr Jervie addressing minister and people. There
was the forecast of harmony that day, but party feeling began to stir in
the church before long. In 1796 Mr Jervie was commended in the Old
Statistical History by a minister of the Established Church for his zeal in
opposing French principles. But there was more of this than some of his
people cared for, and in 1794 two of the members were dealt with for
maligning Mr Jervie and accusing him of preaching politics. There is also
reference in the session minutes to " mournful differences," and four of the
elders withdrew from office about this time. When the proposal to relax
the Formula was coming before the Synod in 1797 Perth session resolved
to intimate that they were strongly opposed to any change whatever. Mr
Aikman now stated that he could not go along with them in this matter, and
thereupon Mr Jervie took the chair. After this it was scarcely to be ex-
pected that a great majority of the elders would come over to New Light
views in the end.
Meanwhile the Synod, instead of changing the Formula, introduced an
explanatory preamble, which was to be read before the questions were put
to ministers or elders at their admission to office. " You are not required
to approve of anything which teaches compulsory principles in religion."
It was unfortunate for the Old Light party in Perth that this was nearly
verbatim what they themselves memorialised the Synod to adopt, the paper
being signed by Mr Jervie as moderator of session, and by Mr James
Craigdallie, his henchman all through. But by-and-by the preamble proved
a stumbling-block to Mr Jervie and his friends. He himself was now frail,
and in distress, and owing to his indisposition the congregation had wanted
evening exercise for some time. But in August 1799 the Old Light party
came before the session with a petition signed by 108 persons to be trans-
mitted to the Synod. They also wished intimation to be made from the
pulpit that the document would lie several days in the session-house for
names, a request which the session refused to grant. Mr Jervie, however,
made the intimation, "and at the same time declared in the strongest terms
his disapprobation of the declaration prefixed to the Formula." The crisis
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 553
among them was brought on by 22 members of the congregation complaining
to the session that Mr Jervie for some time had been "often entertaining
them trom^ the pulpit with inferior points instead of preaching Christ Jesus
the Lord. At a meeting of Presbytery on 21st October in Newburgh
James Lraigdalhe and another presented a paper from Mr Jervie empowerr
, mg them to give in his declinature, and after this had been read it was
agreed to drop his name from the roll.
■ i?at'^^/ ^^-^^^^ proceedings a committee had been appointed to converse
with Mr Jervie, but on meeting with him he handed them a paper bearing
that he would have no communication with them so long as the preamble
^^'"^A'?^ prefixed to the Formula. On 4th November 1800 he acceded to
G Ku ^ H^!^^ Presbytery. In his paper of accession he related how on
babbath, 26th October, his pulpit was taken possession of before eight in the
morning by Mr Aikman and the minister appointed to intimate the
vacancy ; that when he came to conduct the service he was refused access ;
•and that with a goodly number of his people he retired to his own house,
and spent a part of both forenoon and afternoon in prayer, praise, and
reading the Word of God. On the following Wednesday Mr Jervie and
two of his supporters applied to the Sheriff-Substitute to be restored to
the possession of the church. The interim decision was that they should
occupy It in the forenoon, and Mr Aikman and his supporters should have
It afternoon and evening. Thus the law process 'was entered on which
proved so wearisome and so costly. The whole session, thirteen in number,
* ju J ^^^^ ^^^^^ ^'^^ except one. Of the congregation, about a third
adhered to Mr Jervie and two-thirds to Mr Aikman, but a number, includ-
ing some better-class families, withdrew altogether, and joined the Estab-
lished Church. Mr Jervie died, 19th November 1801, having fallen down
in a fit of apoplexy while accompanying the remains of a member of the
congregation to the place of interment. He was in the seventy-seventh year
of his age and fifty-first of his ministry.
Each party petitioned the Court of Session to have the other party
removed from the premises, and on i6th November 1803 the Lord Ordinary
^ave effect to the plea that the meeting-house belonged to the Westkirk
bociety. This body consisted originally of members of the congregation '
who had contributed not less than £2 towards the building of the place ot
worship. Besides claiming the rights of proprietorship this association
regulated the money affairs of the congregation. Hence, when Mr Aikman
was about to be ordained they intimated to the Presbytery what stipend
they had agreed to give each of the ministers. It was this society that
■excluded Mr Brown from the meeting-house, and, the majority of their
representatives being on the Old Light side, they calculated on excluding
Mr Aikman and his supporters in the same way. But the Lord Ordinary
reviewed his decision, and found that the property was held for behoof of a
•congregation in connection with the Burgher Presbytery and Svnod, and
thus set aside the claims of the Westkirk Society to absolute control, and
^ave the property to the New Light party. The case being carried into the
Inner House the opinion of the whole Court was taken, and the opinion con-
*rmed by 7 to 6. Encouraged by the majority being so narrow the Old
Lights appealed to the House of Lords, and there the case was kept at a
<Iead stand for years. Not till 1812 did the cause obtain a hearing, and by
this time both parties were suffering from an exhausted treasury. The
•Original Burgher Synod that year appointed a committee to advise with the
pursuers, but they were not to be involved in any claim that might be made
by lawyers or others. About the same time the other Synod granted Mr
Aikman's people ^20, and recommended sister congregations to aid them
554 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
by collections or otherwise. When at last the House of Lords, under Lord
Eldon's guidance, came to a finding", hope brightened for the appellants.
The case was sent back to the Court of Session to ascertain which side
adhered to the original principles of the Secession, and on this question the
final decision was to turn.
Mr Jervie's place was now filled by the Rev. William Taylor, previously
of Renton, who was inducted, 8th August 1805. Dr Hay of Kinross has-
recorded in his Autobiography that " the protestors were not men of tolerant
minds," and this was specially true of Mr Taylor, as will be seen by reference
to his antecedents at Renton. Such the man who was to steer the Old
Light cause at Perth through fifteen years of stormy weather, and see it
wrecked in the end. After twelve years had passed, with each congregation
in partial possession, it would have been seemly to attempt a friendly adjust-
ment, but, with Mr Taylor at the helm, the motto was : War to the knife.
In answer to the question as to which party adhered to the original
principles of the Secession it was urged by the pursuers that the defenders
had departed from them in introducing a preamble to the Formula. Now
came up another question : Does that change amount to a change of
principle ? The Court of Session decided in the negative. This was on
20th February 181 5, and on the following day, at a meeting of the Original
Burgher Presbytery, the session of Perth came forward in their constituted
capacity, " submitted thfe Interlocutor of the Court of Session as altogether
against them, and declared that it was entirely beyond their ability to
proceed one step farther." This is probably the crisis to which Mr Taylor's
son refers in the Memoir of his father when he says : " In consequence of
one unfavourable judgment 200 members and adherents left the congrega-
tion within a few weeks." A second appeal to the House of Lords entailed
a further delay of three years, and after hearing the pleadings Lord Eldon
took away the papers, and kept them in retentis for two years. " Delays in
his time," says Lord Brougham, "obstructed the course of justice, and well-
nigh fixed the current in perennial frost." On 6th July 1818 his Lordship
intimated, according to the newspapers, that if time permitted he would
on Monday give judgment on a case, the names of which he did not recollect,
but it related to a quarrel between Scottish Seceders as to the doctrines to
be taught in their chapel. But Monday came and went, and there was
nothing done. At last, on 21st June 1820, the long silence was broken, and
the Lord Chancellor confessed himself baffled to make out in what respect
Mr Aikman and the other defenders had departed from the original
principles of the Secession. So the final award was given in their favour,
and on 24th June letters arrived in Perth from London announcing the
decision. It was the terminus reached and the agony of suspense ended.
All that remained now was for each party to count the cost, and it is for
posterity to gather up the lessons. The expenses on the gaining side have
been placed at ;^2350, of which ^iioo remained to be paid. But the Old
Lights found themselves not only churchless but burdened with a debt of
;^i6oo, and though Mr Taylor held on for other fourteen years the con-
gregation was ruined. He died, 20th December 1836, in the seventy-eighth
year of his age and fiftieth of his ministry. Mr Taylor's better qualities and
trying fortunes have ample justice done them in an attractive Biography by
his son, the Rev. James Taylor, D.D., Free Church, Flisk. In 1838 the
membership of the Original Secession congregation, Perth, was put down at
40, and there was a debt of .;^7oo upon the building. The rival congregation,
on the contrary, when the law process was ended, began to renew its
strength ; but Mr Aikman, who during those twenty years had preached
very generally three times each Sabbath, was now aging, and in February
1
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 555
1822 the congregation called Mr James Whyte to be his colleague, a
preacher with an unprecedented run of popularity. He had six calls besides,
but when the vote was taken Perth was preferred by an absolute majority.
The reign of trouble they had experienced may have secured them this
distinction, yet the Synod's kindness led to nothing but disappointment.
In May 1822 Mr Whyte had trials for ordination assigned him, but when
the Presbytery met to receive them he neither appeared nor gave in an
excuse for absence. The cause was referred to the Synod in September,
and at the request of Perth congregation he was sent back to the bounds of
Perth Presbytery, in hopes that his difficulties would be removed. On 5th
November the call was laid aside. Presbytery and congregation feeling that
it was vain to delay the matter any longer.
What remains of Mr Whyte's history has come up in connection with
Queen Anne Street Church, Dunfermline. After he joined the Protestors
an attempt was made to secure him for Perth in that connection. The
Original Secession congregation there were about to call him, but before the
moderation day arrived they were certified that he had embarked for
America, "having resolved that he would not have a settled charge in
Scotland."
Third Minister. — John Newlands, from Glasgow (East Campbell
Street). Ordained as colleague to Mr Aikman, 12th August 1823, the
Synod having appointed him to Perth in preference to Falkirk (now
Graham's Road) and Largs. Mr Aikman was to retain two-thirds of his
former stipend, and Mr Newlands was to have ^150, with communion
expenses. The call was signed by 362 members, and there was large
increase for a time under the young minister, the accessions at the first
two communions amounting to 100. On 17th July 1827 Mr Aikman retired
from active duty on the ground of growing infirmities. The congregation
agreed to allow him ^75 a year, but, cdnsidering the state of the funds,
he had asked them to promise no more than ^60. They kept, however,
by the first-named sum. He died, 15th October 1833, in the eighty-third
year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry. Five years after this Mr
Newlands reported the number of communicants as about 600. The slight
hold which Wilson Church had of the country parishes around, compared
with the North Church, was brought out at this time. While the North
Church had 214 persons, old and young, in Kinnoul parish, Wilson Church
had only 78, and in the parishes of Redgorton and Tibbermuir the North
Church had 117, and Wilson Church only 14. In May 1847, when the
Union with the Relief was accomplished, Mr Newlands was Moderator
of the Secession Synod. In the following year he received the degree of
D.D. from Lafayette College, Pennsylvania.
In 1856 Dr Newlands, who had entered on his ministerial work when
he was little beyond his minority, felt his natural force abating, and it was
deemed needful to have a colleague. When the moderation day came
Mr Peter Whyte was nominated and carried ; but the minister who pre-
sided was complained of for refusing to allow a negative vote, the opposi-
tion alleging that, as they had no other candidate to propose, the refusal
left them helpless. To meet any such contingency the Synod afterwards
introduced the rule that at moderations the question should always be
put at the outset : Is the congregation prepared to go on? On the present
occasion harmony had been disturbed at the eleventh hour, and before the
Presbytery met Mr Whyte put himself out of the calculation by accepting
a call to Denny. But meanwhile Dr Newlands had found himself at a
place where two seas met, and after the call was disposed of " he stated
that a due regard to his own happiness and the good of the church now
556 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
called him to resign his charge." But at next meeting the wishes of th<
congregation and the pleadings of his brethren prevailed, and the resigna-|
tion was withdrawn.
Fourth Minister. — Thomas Miller, from Regent Place, GlasgowJ
Ordained, 17th June 1857, having previously received a call from Sanquha^
(South), but not from Kilmaurs, as has been understood. Dr Newlanda
died, loth January 1861, in the fifty-ninth year of his age and thirty-eightl:
of his ministry. A volume of his sermons, with Memoir by the Rev. John
Lamb of Errol, was published in 1862. Dr Newlands was also the author
of several other discourses, including the sermon preached at the opening
of the last Secession Synod, on the text : " O Lord, I beseech thee, send
now prosperity." His successor, Mr Miller, died, 29th December 1878, in
the fiftieth year of his age and twenty-second of his ministry. His last
words were : " I will be with God." At the first moderation after this Mr
W. S. Dickie, now of Trinity Church, Irvine, was called, but he declined,
as did also the Rev. J. S. Rae, then of Sunderland.
Fifth Minister. — William Dickie, M.A., from Rosehearty, where he
had been ordained two years before. Inducted, nth January i88i, the
stipend being ^300. Accepted a call to Dowanhill, Partick, 12th February
1889.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN Addie, M. A., from Glasgow (Elgin Street). Called
to Kettle a few weeks before, and to Blantyre somewhat earlier. Ordained,
5th September 1889. In November 1894 the church, erected in 1740 and
the oldest in the denomination, was demolished, having been bought up
with a view to city improvements. Close to the former site another, seated
for 900, with suitable equipments, was built at a cost of over ^10,000, and
opened on Sabbath, nth October 1898, with a remaining debt of only ^300,
The membership at the close of 1899 was a good way over 700, being an
increase of some 250 since Mr Dickie's induction. Mr Addie's stipend has
been ^^400 all along.
PERTH, EAST (Relief)
In the Old Statistical History the origin of this congregation is ascribed
to the refusal of the Established Presbytery to sanction the erection of a
Chapel of Ease to meet the requirements of the town. Then application,
it is stated, was made to the Relief, "and a church was immediately built,
and soon filled with people." The feu charter bears date nth February
1786, and they had sermon from Glasgow Presbytery some weeks before
this. The working-class element was strong among them, for of the fourteen
managers in whose name the titles were made out all were weavers except
three. The church appears to have been opened towards the end of 1786,
with sittings for 915, and built at a cost of ^700. In April 1787 the con-
gregation called the Rev. James Colquhoun of Campsie, who declined
acceptance, and then Mr William Thomson, probationer, who preferred
Beith.
First Minister. — David Sangster, who was taken on trials for licence
by Edinburgh Presbytery in August 1785. On 30th June 1788 he is entered
in the Minutes of St Ninians Presbytery as a corresponding member, and
as he was not a member of Synod in May of that year he was probably
ordained between these dates. There is reason to surmise that the con-
gregation was bettered by the break up of the "Lifters" in 1793. They
consisted of malcontents from the North Church ; but the building had
to be sold, and the minister, the Rev. David Wilson, afterwards of Pitten-
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 557
weem, applied for admission to the Relief. It was Mr Sangster who
introduced Mr Wilson to the Presbytery, a fact which bespeaks friendly
relations between them, and was fitted to smooth the way for amalgamation
with such as were inclined. On 5th June 1806 Mr Sangster craved aid from
the Presbyter)- "in his present infirm state," and on 23rd September it was
reported from the Chair that he had died that morning. His tombstone bears
that he was in the fifty-eighth year of his age and nineteenth of his ministry
This latter figure negatives what Dr M'Kelvie has stated, that Mr Sangster
was translated from Banff after a ministry of thirteen years. Circumstances
however, favour the surmise that he belonged originally to Banff. He
married a daughter of the Rev. John Baillie of Crieff, a man whose career
is sketched at the proper place.
Second Minister. ~Yo^^^'~.l P'rkw, who had been eight years in Ceres
(East). Prior to this they had looked in the direction of the Rev. Alexander
Paterson, Dundee, who states in his Journal that Mr Sangster "had been
prevented for a considerable time from working in the Lord's vineyard,"
and that after his death he was asked to allow himself to be chosen as hi's
successor. The call to Mr Frew was brought up amidst contention, but
it was pleaded that, out of 800 communicants, more than 500 had subscribed.
The Synod, on the ground of irregularities, such as the Presbytery "leaving
it open to parties to adhibit their names at any time," set the call aside.
The majority forthwith applied for another moderation, and the minority,
who claimed to number 200, were formed into a new congregation, and
hence the origin of Canal Street Church. Mr Frew was inducted, '22nd
July 1807, and entered on abounding labours. The membership was large,,
amounting, so late as 1838, to about 700, and for thirty years he usually
preached three times each Sabbath. But of the ^^700 which the church
cost only a small sum was raised at the time, and the debt grew, till in
1839 it amounted to not less than ^1600. Perhaps flattering themselves
that a young minister would work wonders amongst them, they petitioned
the Presbytery in July 1835 for liberty to call an assistant and successor
to Mr Frew. The request was granted, when a recommendation to put
forth a vigorous effort to get from under their burdens might have been
more opportune. But in the face of opposition the movement went on^
the stipend of each minister to be ^90.
Third Minister.— ^WAAXW LINDSAY, son of the Rev. William Lindsay
of Clackmannan. Ordained, 13th September 1836. Of the three services
each Lord's day one was conducted, as I understand, by the senior minister,
and this went on till Sabbath, 30th January 1842, when, after lecturing in the
forenoon, Mr Frew went home, to come back no more. He died on the
following Sabbath, 6th February, in the seventy-second year of his age and
forty-fourth of his ministry. The Presbytery recorded in their minutes that
• he was a superior classical scholar, a sound divine, a devout man, a zealous
labourer, an indefatigable pastor, and a man given to hospitality, whose house
was a second home to many a stranger." He was the father of Dr Frew
of St Ninians. Mr Lindsay's ministiy involved a long struggle with oppres-
sive difficulties. After his colleague's death the congregation raised his
stipend from ^90 to ^120, and this sum they were to pay "as long as they
were able." In 1839 the young men in the church attempted to have the
debt reduced, but instead of the end being gained ill-feeling was stirred,
and the membership reduced. The certainty that in addition to present
liabilities the building of another church would have to be faced was enough
to make the faint-hearted seek away. How the congregation in its weakened
state managed to grapple successfully with their load of debt we know not ;
!iut, thanks to the female members, it was done, and in 1859 the last of the
558
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
sad entail was cleared away. But now the house which had sheltered them \
for seventy-five years was pronounced unsafe to meet in. A church, built I
on the old site, with sittings for 650, was opened on the first Sabbath of 1863,
the cost being ^1350, which was entirely met within the next two years.
But Mr Lindsay was not to enjoy the sense of relief very long. He died,
25th September 1865, after a painful illness, in the sixty-second year of his
age and thirtieth of his ministry. He was a son-in-law of the Rev. John
Jamieson of Bellshill.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Henderson, translated from Earlston
(East), and inducted, 28th August 1866. The call was signed by only 151
members, but a stipend of ^200 was promised, liberality much in advance of j
their fathers' times. At the centenary in 1886 the membership of the East '
Church was 253. After a year and a half of broken health Mr Henderson
died, 2ist June 1888, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and forty-first of his
ministry. Mr Henderson's elder son, the Rev. Robert Henderson, was
minister of Innellan.
Fifth Minister.— TnOMAS, Crawford, B.D., from Tarbolton. Ordained,
4th December 1888, after having been assistant for some time to Dr Hutchi-
son of Bonnington, whose son-in-law he became. The membership was
given as 249, of whom 200 signed the call. At the close of 1899 it was 376,
and the stipend had been raised from ;^200 to ^230.
PERTH, CANAL STREET (Relief)
In connection with the first call to the Rev. Forrest Frew the dissentients
complained of being ill-treated by the elders and managers, and on 19th
May 1807, when the majority applied anew for a moderation, they petitioned
to be formed into a distinct church. The paper was signed by "nigh 200,"
but how many of these were communicants is not stated. The representa-
tive of the session announced that "the greater part of the congregation
approved of the disjunction," and the Presbytery, without further inquiry,
gave the petitioners their own way, and they had Paul's Chapel to worship
in. This was the church that had been built for the Smytonite congregation,
alias the " Lifters." The cause having collapsed the building came into
private hands. In 1794 an attempt was made to have it converted into
a Chapel of Ease, but the sanction of the Presbytery to that effect was
annulled by the General Assembly. In January 1798 a petition in name of
the proprietors, managers, and other hearers in Paul Street Chapel was
presented to the North Church session asking their concurrence in an
application for sermon to the Antiburgher Presbytery of Perth. This was
renewed in March, the paper being signed by 79 persons "not in
our communion except one." The session refused to transmit, but the
Presbytery, on appeal, granted supply as requested. Preaching was kept up
for a few months, and then all mention ceases. The chapel was now rented
to the Independents at ;^7o a year, and in their occupancy it continued till
they removed to a more commodious church of their own. It was now in
Paul's Chapel that the second Relief congregation in Perth was constituted,
and it was there that for nine years they had their first local habitation.
First Minister. — Robert Arthur, a preacher who got licence from
Edinburgh Presbytery, 5th July 1803. Ordained, 9th February 1808, and
on 31st May 1814 he accepted a call to Castlegarth, Newcastle. It now
comes out that during his stay of six years in Perth " only a small portion
of his stipend had been paid up," a fact which brought serious consequences.
Second Minister.— ] AMES Bow, from Kilsyth. Ordained, 8th March
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 559
1815. But the people were not done with their former minister nor their
former minister with them. What the system of legal bonds for payment
of stipend rendered possible is seen to perfection in the experience of Canal
Street congregation. The first notice of what was coming appears in the
records of Edinburgh Relief Presbytery four weeks after Mr Arthur's
induction at Newcastle. It was Perth congregation appealing to them to
advise their late minister " to sist present action in the prosecution against
the members." Procedure was stayed for the time ; but there was no girding
up on their part to satisfy Mr Arthur's pecuniary claims, and in February
1 8 16 Perth Presbytery learnt that the people were attempting to evade their
liabilities by getting quit of their congregational identity. They were
abandoning Paul's Chapel, and intended to erect a place of worship on a
new footing, and leave the old managers to defray the old debts. In April
it came out that Mr Arthur had got an Interlocutor in his favour. Mar-
shall's History of Perth gives the final outcome: "Such of the members
as had subscribed a bond for the payment of stipend had actions raised
against them. Several were incarcerated, and others had their goods and
furniture sold by public auction." The accuracy of this statement has been
confirmed by private inquiry.
Mr Arthur was the only Relief minister who ever settled down perman-
ently in Newcastle and died there. We lose sight of him till a few years
before the close. In 1835 the Home Mission Committee reported that his
church had been for a considerable time without sermon owing to the
minister's illness, but it was now getting occasional supply from ministers
in the neighbourhood. In the following year it was stated that during the
summer he had officiated himself, but with difficulty, and the meeting-house
was now offered to the Synod for a mission station. On this footing it was
taken over by the Presbytery of Kelso, and sermon kept up for a few months,
"but seeing no prospect of reviving the cause, except at a ruinous expense,
they resolved to discontinue the supply." Mr Arthur died, 3rd August
1838, in the sixty-fifth year of his age and thirty-first of his ministry. In-
formation bears that as a preacher he was suspected of having come
partially within the current of down-grade influence which carried so much
of the Presbyterianism of England in the direction of Unitarianism. If his
hold of central truth relaxed, his pulpit power was sure to suffer.
As for Mr Bow and his congregation at Perth, after leaving Paul's
Chapel they met for a time in the old Grammar School, but in November
18 1 7 they removed to a chapel in Canal Street which had been occupied by
the Independents. The purchase money of ^450 was paid by the minister,
who was henceforth the sole proprietor. The legal proceedings above referred
to are said to have thinned their numbers ; but Mr Bow laboured on among
them for thirty-six years, a man of plain habits, unfailing diligence, and
much esteemed by his people. In 1838 he put the membership at 250, "all
of the poor and working classes." At the meeting of the Relief Synod in
1847 he petitioned for aid in repairing the place of worship, and £25 was
granted on condition that the property should be held in connection with
the denomination. In May 185 1 the Presbytery referred to the Synod a
memorial from Mr Bow for authority to sell the church, "that a certain debt
thereon due to him might be liquidated." The Synod in expressing con-
currence recommended the Presbytery to consider whether it would not be
practicable to keep up the congregation. But though this was attempte'd,
and appointments were made by way of trial, the managers " resolved to
discontinue," and the Presbytery found they could do no more. On 15th
September 185 1 Mr Bow died, in the sixty-fourth year of his age and thirty-
seventh of his ministry. The building was sold to the Second Congrega-
56o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
tional Church, Perth, for ^250, and on 14th October it was intimated that
the business was wound up, and about £,i\o handed over to Mr Bow's
representatives. The whole history of the Relief church, Canal Street,
Perth, is a comment on the malign results of division in churches, when
frivolous grounds alone are involved.
PERTH, YORK PLACE (United Presbyterian)
This congregation consisted originally of a party which broke off from St
Leonard's Free Church when their former minister, the Rev. John Milne,
returned from India, and was invited to resume the pastorate of his old
charge. They met for a time in the Guild Hall, where they had to depend
on accidental supply, and sometimes had no supply at all, till one of their
number entered into communication with the Rev. John Zeigler Huie, who
had succeeded Mr Milne in St Leonard's, but left under a cloud. He
returned to Perth, where the City Hall was taken for him, and as he was
an eloquent preacher he attracted good audiences at first, and it was re-
solved to proceed with the building of a church. Matters continued in this
state for two and a half years, and then the people who had chosen him for
their helmsman were compelled to throw him overboard, and some of their
principal men had substantial reasons for regretting that they put their trust
under his shadow. A number found their way back to the Free Church, but
about IOC of the members kept together, and, guided by Mr Marshall of
Coupar- Angus, they appUed on 5th February 1861 to be recognised as a
congregation by the United Presbyterian Presbytery ot Perth. They stated
that they had a place of worship, seated for 800, and built at a cost of ^1900,
of which ^600 had been paid, and that they expected to be self-sustaining.
At next meeting, on the 26th, they were formally admitted, the sessions of
the North Church and Wilson Church not objecting, and that of the East
Church making no appearance, as they considered admission to be a fore-
gone conclusion.
Of the Rev. John Z. Huie a few well-authenticated facts may be noted
down. In the beginning of 1847 he arrived in Australia, having been sent
out by the Colonial Committee of the Free Church to take charge of a con-
gregation at Geelong. Then "after prosecuting his labours with success
for a few years he returned to Scotland." In 1853 he was translated from
Dirleton to St Leonard's, Perth, where he remained four years, when there
came something like enforced separation. Then, as we have seen, he was
recalled by a section of his former flock after a lapse of a twelvemonth, and
in 1858 he began to exercise his ministry among them, out of all ecclesiastical
connection. To the Rev. John Milne, who was now reinstated into St
Leonard's, he may have been as far superior in gifts of oratory as he was
inferior in consecration of life. A month or two after York Place congrega-
tion had been received into the U.P. Church he turned up at a meeting of
Synod in Victoria. The brethren had heard an unfavourable report with
regard to Mr Huie's family relations, but having satisfied themselves they
received him to labour as a minister within the bounds. His wife was a
sister of Dr Main, Free St Mary's, Edinburgh, and it was known that she
had left him. But, again, Mr Huie's gifts still upheld him, and having
received a call to Geelong signed by 152 residenters he was inducted there
on i8th September 1861. But within three months, having renounced con-
nection with the Synod, his resignation was accepted on the spot, and " his
name was dropped from the roll of the ministry." He was now on the
" down grade," and, according to the testimony of an Australian minister, he
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 561
came at last to exercise his old functions on the street, denouncing the recent
Union in Victoria, and winding up with a collection from the crowd. Within
a few years at most he was buried in a nameless grave. Such was the man
who succeeded the Rev. W; H. Hewitson at Dirleton, and the Rev. John
Milne at St Leonard's, Perth. But we return to York Place.
First Afinister. — James Frame, from Peterhead, where he had been
minister for seven and a half years. Inducted, 24th July 1861. The call
was signed by 82 members, and the stipend was to be ^200. On 28th July
1863 Mr Frame accepted a call to Sydney Place, Glasgow, to be colleague
to the Rev. John Ker. During his two years in Perth the congregation was
consolidated, and the membership about doubled. There was now a pause
of eight months, and then they called Mr Fergus Ferguson, but he ultimately
preferred Dalkeith.
Second Minister. — William Girdwood, from Penicuik, where he had
become his father's successor three years before. The present call was
signed by 178 members, but, as there was still a burden of debt to remove, the
stipend was kept at ^200, the only increase being^ 10 for sacramental expenses.
Mr Girdwood was inducted, 31st January 1865, but for family reasons a
change of climate was needed, and on 15th January 1867 his resignation
was accepted. Kaffraria was his destination, under the auspices of the
Mission Board, and there he still labours.
Third Mi?tister. — Archibald Sutherland, M.A., from Lossiemouth, a
brother of the Rev. John Sutherland of Dunbar. The signatures of members
amounted to 198, and in addition to the former stipend the minister was now
provided with a manse. Mr Sutherland was ordained, 9th July 1867. The
debt, which was not under ;^i3oo at first, was reduced in 1871 from ^1000 to
^500, the congregation having raised ;^375, and ^125 being received from
the Liquidation Fund. In 1878 an offer of aid from the Board in the same
proportion was brought before the managers through the Presbytery. They
made answer that on a particular Sabbath they had collected ^252 for the
liquidation of debt, and this, with ^84 of a grant, reduced the entire sum to
^164, which after some years was in like manner cleared away. The
membership at the close of 1899 was 374, and the stipend ^250, with
the manse.
PERTH, BRIDGEND (United Presbyterian)
After the question of Church E.xtension at Perth had been before the
Presbytery for years, Bridgend was fi.xed on as a suitable centre, and in May
1892 a site was secured at a cost of ^500. The movement promised at one
time to take shape at Craigie, half-a-mile south of Perth, but there was far
more to be said in favour of the present selection. From Kinnoull parish,
which includes Bridgend, the four Secession and Relief churches in the city
drew fully 400 members and adherents in 1838, and the population had more
than douioled itself since then. A new formation on the farther side of the river
might encroach slightly on Scone congregation, but the session there made
no objections to the proposal. So building operations went on, and on
Wednesday, 29th August 1894, the new church was opened by Dr Smith of
Broughton Place, Edinburgh, the collections on that day and on the follow-
ing Sabbath amounting to ^1000. Ten months before this, at the laying of
the foundation stone, it was intimated that .1^1160 had been subscribed.
These rich providings for a congregation yet unborn were sure pledges of
success.
On Sabbath, 14th October 1894, the congregation was constituted. Of
II. 2 N
562
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
certificates given in 21 were from the North Church, 9 from Wilson Church,
2 from Scone, i from York Place, i from Free St Leonard's, and 6 from
other localities — making 40 in all. Before the end of the year a moderation
was obtained, the stipend being ^250, of which the Board engaged to pay
;^i2o the first year, ^80 the second, and ^50 the third. The cost of the
church, including the site, was ^3600, of which ^2600 was met by subscrip-
tions, by collections at the opening of the church and at the induction services,
and by a grant of ^300 from the Synod's Extension Fund. This left only
_;^iooo of debt, of which ^500 rested on the property, and ;^5oo was due to
the Permanent Loan Fund.
First Minister. — GEORGE ROBSON, D.D. Called unanimously from
Inverness, and inducted, 7th February 1895. They had no session of their
own as yet, but four of their number had been in office already — two in the
North Church, one in Wilson Church, and one in Scone — and these, after
being duly elected, were set apart to the eldership in Bridgend congregation.
During the first six months of Dr Robson's ministry the membership of 40
was exactly doubled, all the additions except 5 having been by certificate.
At the close of 1899 the communion roll numbered 158. The stipend had
been raised to ^300, and during the year the income of the congregation
was considerably over ;^6oo, nearly one-third of it being for missionary and
benevolent purposes.
CRAIGEND (Antiburgher)
This was a branch from the North Church, Perth, almost exclusively. On
25th November 1779 members residing in the parishes of Rhynd, Dumbarnie,
Forgandenny, and Forteviot, and to the south of the town itself, petitioned
their session to concur with them in taking regular steps for having a place
of worship at Craigend. Concurrence had been readily obtained when con-
gregations were formed at Errol and Methven, but this proposal made the
session pause "that the mind of the congregation might be got." But
meanwhile the leaders in the movement had secured a site at Craigend, the
original lease of ninety-nine years dating from Whitsunday 1780. Though
the Presbytery records are lost we may set down July or August 1780 as the
time when the congregation was organised. The pressure for accommoda-
tion in the North Church was now to be lessened in a more natural way
than by having two places of worship within the town itself for the undivided
congregation. It is doubtful, however, whether the disjunction was looked
on with favour by the session of the parent church, and though Craigend
people applied to them for help in building their meeting-house there is
nothing to show that there was any response. But the church, with sittings
for over 400, was finished without let or hindrance.
First Minister. — James Drysdale, from Kinkell. Ordained, 8th April
1783. In March 1786 the Presbytery began to appoint sick-supply to
Craigend pulpit, and on 25th June a Minute of session records that another
acted as moderator, their own minister "being deceased." The register of
Trinity-Cask parish has among mort-cloth dues : " To Rev. Mr Drysdale,
Antiburgher minister of Craigend, John's son, 3s." The date is 2nd July
1786. The words "John's son" are suggestive of paternal hopes laid in an
early grave. The same register gives "James, a child of John Drysdale, in
Nether Cask, baptised, i6th December 1757," so that at his death he was
in his twenty-ninth year and the fourth of his ministry.
Next summer the congregation called Mr Frederick M'Farlane, the two
Perth colleagues presiding on the occasion. The signatures numbered
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 563
151, and as these would be all male members the communion roll must have
been over 300. The Synod in August 1787 appointed Mr M'Farlane, much
against his will, to Montrose. Similarly in April 1789 Mr George Paxton
was appointed to the United congregation of Kilmaurs and Stewarton in
preference to Craigend. A third moderation took place next November,
when two probationers, who had received licence from Perth Presbytery on
the same day and were both sent forthwith to supply at Craigend, were
balanced against each other. The written report shows the order observed
on such occasions. After public worship the presiding minister "desired
the male members of the congregation to remain," and then pronounced the
benediction. Having again prayed, he stated the design for which they
were met, intimated who had a right to take part in the election, and asked
for nominations, when Mr Samuel Gilfillan and Mr William Syme were
proposed. A show of hands having been taken it was found that 62 were
for the one and 63 for the other, " but upon that side for which 63 voted 2
votes were objected to." The equipoise being as near perfection as odd
numbers would allow, it was thought proper to announce that there was
no election. At next meeting of Presbytery another moderation was applied
for, probably with the view of again measuring strength against each other,
but the Presbytery, on the ground that there was no appearance of harmony
among them, rejected the petition.
Second Minister. — Robert Forsyth, from the parish of Lochmaben
and the congregation of Dumfries (now Loreburn Street). The signatures
were down to 106, and there were 19 members opposing, but after com-
missioners were heard the call was sustained, and the ordination took place,
26th August 1790. Two years afterwards a manse was built. In a brief
Memoir of Mr Forsyth by his son and successor it is stated that a few years
after his settlement, "owing to a change in the mode of agriculture, the
district was to a great extent depopulated, so'much so that at a single term
upwards of 30 families were ejected from their houses and deprived of the
means of subsistence." In 1838 the communicants were found to be reduced
from over 300 to 188. The stipend at this time was ^100, with house, garden,
and ^8, 8s. for sacramental expenses. Of young and old from other
parishes, Rhynd furnished about 100 ; while Dumbarnie and Forteviot
together gave another 100, and there were a few from Forgandenny. To
the rural district south from Perth and included, like the church itself, in
the East parish, the remaining 115 belonged, the total number being 332.
After Mr Forsyth had ministered for more than fifty years at Craigend the
people proceeded to provide him with a colleague. Along with the petition
for a moderation there was a letter from the aged minister bearing that
" through the kindness of Providence he does not require or desire the
congregation to burden themselves by coming under any specific obligation
on his behalf, nor would he wish anything of this kind to be proposed by
the Presbytery."
Third Minister.— ] A^MKS FORSYTH, who had been in Auchtermuchty
(North) for fifteen years. Inducted, i6th December 1841, the call being
signed by 162 members. The Rev. Robert T. Walker of Comrie preached
from the text : " Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good," and the
discourse was talked of far and wide, as a "facer-up" to his antagonists on
the Atonement question in Perth Presbytery. It was also reported that,
instead of waiting to meet Tiis brethren at the induction dinner, he made
tracks for home. Next Sabbath the father introduced the son to his new
charge by discoursing from the text with which he began his ministry fifty-
one years before: "Glorious things are spoken of thee, O city of God."
It was his last sermon, though he survived for some years. He died, 2nd
564 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
June 1846, in the eighty-eighth year of his age and fifty-sixth of his ministry.
His wife was a daughter of the Rev. John Milligan, the first Secession
minister of Urr.
At Craigend, though the field was narrow, and the stipend less than he
had in his former charge, Mr James Forsyth dwelt among his own people,
and must have had quiet comfort instead of the strain and worry of
an over-churched place like Auchtermuchty. The only time he came
prominently forward at the Synod was when the Union with the Associate
Presbytery of Ireland was arranged for. He did not sympathise with the
strong attitude that Presbytery maintained on the regium donum question.
But though other members of court were opposed to amalgamation Mr
Forsyth's name stands alone at the reasons of dissent. For him the end
came suddenly, when he was a great way short of the years of his father.
On Tuesday, 26th February 1861, he appeared at the Presbytery in his
usual health. Next evening he took ill, and on Thursday forenoon he
died, in the sixtieth 3'^ear of his age and thirty-fifth of his ministry.
In 1845, when the Atonement Controversy was at its height, Mr Forsyth
published " Remarks on Dr Heugh's Irenicum." This pamphlet, the only
production of his pen we have, marks a mistaken recoil from old Marrow
doctrine and from early Secession views on the unfettered freeness of the
gospel offer. The text " God so loved the world" has its meaning narrowed
in, Mr Forsyth argued, by the words " whosoever believeth." The phrase
"removal of legal bars" to the salvation of mankind sinners he objected to,
maintaining that legal bars are only removed in the case of those who
betake themselves to Christ by faith. Ralph Erskine in his preaching
exclaimed : " To you, O sinners, is the door of salvation opened " ; but
Mr Forsyth would have said it is enough to tell the sinner if he come to
the door of salvation he will find it open. Such were the Anti-Marrow
positions into which several besides Mr Forsyth were driven by the
exigencies of controversy. In their anxiety to keep clear of "a general
reference" in the Atonement every text was looked at on the guarding
side, and the gospel lost the broad air of universal welcome. Though the
Secession Fathers kept unswervingly by the doctrine of Particular Redemp-
tion, and made the vicarious element an essential in atoning work, this did
not hamper them in telling the members of Adam's family, without distinc-
tion and without exception : All things are ready ; come to the marriage.
Fourth Minister. — ^James Wardrop, now Professor Wardrop, from
Avonbridge. When an Arts student Mr Wardrop gained the prize of ^100,
offered by a Russian nobleman who had studied in Edinburgh, for an
essay on Byzantine Literature. His theological course was completed
in 1850, but owing to other engagements he did not receive licence
till the summer of 1856, and on 26th November 1861, having previously
declined a call to Muckart, he was ordained at Craigend. Though
reduced in numbers the congregation there undertook ^120 of stipend,
or ^20 more than Mr Forsyth was promised. In 1867 Mr Wardrop, by
some freak of fortune or miscalculation of affinities, was called to Ollaberry,
in Shetland, but he declined the occupancy of that distant outpost. On
1 2th February 1878 he accepted a call to West Calder. By this time^
through the steady thinning out of population, the membership of Craigend
had declined to 94, and everything seemed on the verge of collapse. At
next meeting of Presbytery it was intimated that since the vacancy occurred
many of the members had either left or were intending to leave. Besides
this, their lease of the ground had only a year to run, and extensive repairs
were needed on the manse, and they saw no prospect of being able to
continue, even as a preaching station. Perth Presbytery took it with great
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 565
composure, and preparations were made for the formal dissolution, but at
a meeting of the congregation on 8th July Mr Foote, an energetic member
of the Mission Board, appeared among them. He spoke of the assistance
they might calculate on from the funds of the Church. He could guarantee
help from Glasgow to carry out needed repairs, and they might rely on a
nineteen years' lease of the property at an annual rent of ^10. This in-
spirited them, and a deputation was forthwith appointed to attend the
Presbytery with a request to be put on the list of vacancies.
Fifth Minister. — William T. Walker, M.A., from Glasgow (Caledonia
Road). Ordained, 4th February 1879. The stipend from their own funds
was to be ^70, with manse and garden, but when the call was brought up
it was intimated that they had spontaneously raised the figure from £jo to
j^90. On 3rd June 1884 Mr Walker accepted a call to Oban, and Craigend
again became vacant ; but there was no talk now of dissolving, and the
vacancy was not of long duration.
Sixth Minister. — Thomas S. Newlands, B.D., from Glasgow (Clare-
mont), and a nephew of the Rev. Dr Newlands, Wilson Church, Perth.
Ordained, 2nd December 1884. The membership at the close of 1899 was
91, and the stipend of ^90 from the people was still maintained.
COUPAR-ANGUS AND THE EASTERN DIVISION
COUPAR-ANGUS (Antiburgher)
On 14th March 1740 the Associate Presbytery received accessions from
Coupar-Angus and the neighbouring parishes, and in October others
followed. On 14th July 1743 the seceders in that quarter were, at their
own request, joined to Dundee, though the places are fifteen miles apart,
and the call to Mr Johnstone in May 1745 was adhered to by 5 members
from Coupar-Angus, who could not be present at the moderation. At this
time there was a proposal to divide Mr Johnstone's labours between the two
places, but the Presbytery refused to sanction any such arrangement. But,
after all, Mr Johnstone was accustomed preaching at Coupar-Angus every
third Sabbath, and this went on till the Breach in 1747, when the families
there took the Antiburgher side, and parted company with Dundee.
First Minister. — ROBERT Car MICHAEL, of whom we only know that
in student days he kept a school at Milnathort, and acted as precentor to
Mr Mair's congregation. Ordained, 21st August 1751. The growth of the
Secession cause at Coupar-Angus must have been considerable at that
period, since in 1757 we can count up a session of at least eleven elders and
five deacons. However, during the last years of Mr Carmichael's ministry
progress was arrested, there being only 4 accessions in 1759, and 6 in
1760. By the formation of a congregation at Rattray, four and a half
miles off, there was also in 1757 a narrowing in to the north and north-west,
and a corresponding encroachment on the membership. Up till then the
nearest sister church was Kinclaven, about eight miles distant, with the Tay
between. But a change was now impending, Mr Carmichael being the
first of several Antiburgher ministers who came under the influence of
John Glass and went over to Independency. On nth November 1761 his
case was brought before the Presbytery by complaint from his session and
congregation. The doctrines propounded by him were such as these : that
faith is not the instrument but the fruit of justification : that there is no
566
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
authority in Scripture for making the gospel call universal ; and that in
exhorting unbelievers about what they are to do to escape the wrath and
curse of God we only encourage them to work out a righteousness of their
own. He must also have startled his people when he told them that there
is no warrant in the New Testament for National Churches or national
covenanting, and that the Presbyterian system of Church government never
had a being until Calvin. Refusing to retract, Mr Carmichael was suspended
from the exercise of his ministry, and the case went before the Synod.
This was not the first time Mr Carmichael had been dealt with for
alleged errors in doctrine. When a preacher he supplied in London for a
prolonged period, and after he had been a year ordained the session there
sent up a list of charges against him to the Presbytery. Having acknow-
ledged the use of rash and unguarded language on various heads, he was ad-
monished " to more circumspection with respect to his expressions in public in
time coming." Now, on being suspended, he removed to Dundee, where he
identified himself with John Glass, but there is nothing to indicate that he
ever had the slightest following from among his own people. In September
1762 he appeared at the bar of the Synod, and read a paper, entitled
" Declaration and Confession of Robert Carmichael." They characterised
it as " a very deep and general attack on the whole system of our received
principles, and those of all Protestant Churches," though they admitted it
was done "with all appearance of ingenuity (ingenuousness) and sobriety in
the manner thereof." A committee was appointed to report on the paper at
next meeting, and meanwhile he was to have access to converse with them,
a privilege he was not likely to exercise. In April 1763 he did not compear,
and, the congregation being urgent to have the way cleared for a successor,
it carried unanimously to depose and excommunicate. That year he with-
drew from the Glassites, and joined the Independents. In 1765 he became
pastor of a Baptist church in Edinburgh with a membership of 9, and
four years afterwards he removed to Dundee, where a like society was being
organised. In 1772 his health gave way, and "his affliction was doubly
augmented by the unworthy conduct of several of those under his pastoral
care." He now returned to Edinburgh, where he died in the beginning of
March 1774. These particulars are taken from the Memoir of Archibald
M'Lean, who along with Mr Carmichael may be reckoned the founder of
the Scottish Baptists, though they had a little community in Caithness at an
earlier time.
In April 1766 there is reference in the Synod Minutes to a call from
Coupar-Angus to Mr Robert Young signed by 73 (male) members. This
preacher had given offence to both Presbytery and Synod by his behaviour
on various occasions, and after he had been rebuked and admonished this
call, as well as another from Elgin, was laid aside. At the latter place we
have met with him already.
Second Minister. — Thom.\s Sm.\ll, from Abernethy. Ordained, i8th
November 1767. There are tokens of prosperity having attended this brief
ministry, there being at a communion not long before the close 25 acces-
sions. Mr Small died, 5th May 1772, in the twenty-ninth year of his age
and fifth of his ministry. The substance of the Latin inscription on his
tombstone runs thus : Here lie the ashes of Mr Thomas Small, a true
Christian and faithful minister, as we believe, in the Associate Church,
Coupar-Angus, who laboured diligently in the work of the gospel until it
pleased God to call him away to the joy of his Lord.
One specimen of Church discipline at Coupar-Angus in Mr Small's time
may illustrate how it was exercised for salutary ends. As an antidote
against a certain distemper among their cattle some members of the con-
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 567
gregation had resorted to a notable expedient. " They put out all the fires
of the town, and produced new fire by the friction of wood, by means of a
wheel, and, kindling some whins or broom, caused their cattle to pass
through the ashes, and then drove them into the water." The parties
pleaded that they acted in this way merely because they heard of others
doing it with success ; but the session were of opinion that, as they had
no notion of there being anything medicinal in the case or pertaining to
natural causes, they "depended upon the effect following in some secret,
mysterious way, and were guilty, therefore, of meddling with the works of
darkness." The culprits professed sorrow " for the offence they had given
the people in this corner," and were to be rebuked after public worship.
Third Minister.— ]k^\'k?, Bishop, from Kinkell. In 1748 Mr Bishop,
then a divinity student, was conducting a school at Craigmailen, but owing
to heinous misconduct he was arrested in his course, and suspended from
Church fellowship. Having given evidence of repentance he had the
sentence removed, and in 1762 he was appointed to teach the Philosophical
Class at Alloa, an office which he held for ten years. He was then remitted
to Stirling Presbytery for licence, and on 15th November 1774 he was
ordained at Coupar-Angus. During his ministry there must have been a
fair measure of increase, 23 being admitted to membership in July 1776,
19 in August 1778, and 28 in June and October 1779; but at the last of
these dates the end came, as a session minute has recorded. It tells that,
after being censured by the Presbytery of Perth for drunkenness, "he did
at last fall into the same sin during the solemn work of communicating in
the meeting-house, 17th October I779-" I" April 1780 the Presbyter)' re-
ported to the Synod his suspension, and then that he had resigned and
been loosed from his charge. In 1783 he applied to be restored to office,
and the case was remitted to the Presbytery of Perth. For the next ten years
Mr Bishop itinerated as a preacher, and he was receiving appointments
within the bounds of Perth Presbytery towards the end of 1793, but until
recently we could meet with no further trace of him. Now, however, we
are able, from a newspaper paragraph, to give the close. It reads thus :
"On 25th November last (i7.93) Mr James Bishop, preacher of the gospel,
in returning from Perth to his place of residence in Auchterarder, mistook
his way, and fell into the River Earn, and perished." It states further that
he was upwards of seventy years of age, which makes him over fifty when
he was ordained ; and it explains that, as he was travelling alone, no one
saw him fall into the water, and his body was not found till 28th December.
It adds that the piety "which ran through his public discourses recom-
mended him as an agreeable preacher to all who relished the doctrines of
the gospel in their primitive simplicity."
Fourth Minister.— Alkxasdek Allan, from Dennyloanhead, his
minister being the Rev. John Walker, whose son-in-law he became. Com-
peting calls came up from Ayr and Kilmaurs, but the Synod, "considering
the many distressing trials which that congregation has met with, and the
appearance the settlement has of peace and edification among them, did,
and hereby do, prefer Coupar-Angus." Ordained, 22nd August 1781, when
the Rev. Alexander Pringle of Perth preached from the text : " Take heed
unto thyself, and unto the doctrine." Mr Allan, instead of passing through a
University curriculum, entered the Philosophical Class at Alloa in 1769,
but was told that he " must endeavour a more exact acquaintance with the
Latin language." At the Theological Hall his attendance was very frag-
mentary, and it extended on that account from 1771 to 1779. One session
he was present "about three weeks, the gentleman in whose faniily he
teaches allowing him only about a month's absence, part of which time is
568 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
taken up in coming and going." During Mr Allan's ministry we have the
workings of the covenanting system in an exaggerated form at Coupar-
Angus. In June 1784 this solemn act was engaged in among them, 22
men and 55 women entering into the bond. Some time afterwards the
session dealt with one of their own number for neglecting the recent
opportunity, and it was only on his declaring that he would be guilty of
no such omission again that he was allowed to continue in office. On two
occasions also members elected to the eldership were held back from or-
dination for the same reason. But the high ground taken by minister and
session on the binding obligation of the covenants was preparing the way
for the formation of a Relief church at Coupar- Angus.
Although Mr Allan was very pronounced on this question, he took
an active part in the New Light cause when the Constitutional Presbytery
was formed. Indeed, his two publications : " The Power of the Civil
Magistrate in Matters of Religion " and " A View of Religious Covenant-
ing," were in reality the Synod's apology for the New Testimony. A
number of Coupar-Angus people at this time took up Old Light ground,
and withdrew from Mr Allan's ministry, though it was not till they were
joined by a party of the Anti-Unionists of 1820 that they obtained a
minister or had a regular place of worship. In 1819 Mr Allan was entirely
laid aside from public duty, and it was needful to provide him with a
colleague, the arrangement being that he should have ^80 a year, with
manse, garden, and payment of public burdens, while the junior minister
was to receive ^90 in all. First came a call to the Rev. David Wilson,
who had recently resigned Balbeggie, but as it was much divided, and
as a negative vote had not been allowed, the Presbytery set it aside. In
the early part of 1822 Coupar-Angus went in for Mr James Whyte, and
increased the promised stipend by ^20. At the Synod in May the commis-
sioners urged in favour of their claims " the great anxiety manifested by
their old and infirm pastor for the object of their choice," but when the
vote was taken between the seven calls not a single voice pronounced for
Coupar-Angus. After Mr Whyte was set free from Perth the call was
repeated, but acceptance was hopeless. Mr Allan died, 30th January
1824, in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-third of his ministry,
having been quite incapacitated for more than five years. The membership
at this time was about 300.
Fifth Minister. — Charles Muirhead, from Buchlyvie. The first
application for a moderation was opposed by seven elders and 38 members,
and, when granted, a protest and appeal was taken, but the Synod left
the determining of future action to the Presbytery. The call, when it
came out, was signed by only 58 male members, and was preferred to
another from Kinkell. The opposing party had already applied to the
Protestors for sermon, the petition being signed by four elders and 24
(male) members. This need not have happened had the majority been
less persistent. Mr Muirhead was ordained, 30th March 1825. He died,
2nd August 1830, and on his tombstone there is the following tribute to his
memory : — " The course of his ministry was brief, but the extent of his great
literary acquirements, the maturity of his judgment as a theologian, the
enlightened fidelity of his official labours, the sanctified sweetness of his
disposition, and the heavenly serenity of his dying hour will be long remem-
bered by the surviving few who had the happiness of knowing his worth."
I recall the testimony borne by a very intelligent elder to Mr Muirhead's
talents as a preacher, whom he had heard in a Fife vacancy forty years
before. He dwelt specially on the wealth of material which opened out
before him as his discourses went on.
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 569
Sixth Minis fer.—^\hL\ AM Marshall, from Logiealmond. Procedure
was hastened, Mr Marshall being under call to Whithorn, and seven weeks
after Mr Muirhead's death the Synod appointed him to Coupar-Angus.
Keeping by the old Antiburgher system, only male members signed the
call, numbering in this case 69. The stipend was to be ^iio, with house,
:garden, and sacramental expenses, but it was raised soon after to ;^i2o.
Ordained, 28th December 1830. In 1836 there were 280 communicants,
and the debt on the property was ^212. In numbers they were much
behind the Relief congregation, but their hold on surrounding parishes was
greater, especially on Bendochy, where Mr Reston had only 5 famihes,
and Mr Marshall had 78 individuals, young and old. In the early years
of his ministry the Voluntary Controversy began, and Mr Marshall was
drawn into the thick of the battle. He was a man of formidable power, but
in Perth Presbytery his gifts were not always exercised to the best advantage,
and for much of the awe he inspired as a debater he owed more to the
roughness of the weapon than either to the strength or the skill of the arm
that wielded it. When the Union question was introduced to the Synod
in 1863 the discussion took him on the soft side, and to the surprise of many
he declared himself favourable out and out. At meetings of the joint com-
mittee he proved himself a man of weight, though, as appears from the
letters of Dr Cairns, his bearing sometimes caused uneasiness, and on one
occasion almost produced a crisis. " This speech," he wrote, " uttered with
great vehemence, and seconded by many blows and knocks, seemed not
unlikely to shiver the Union vessel to pieces, and we sat trembling." In
appreciation of his services in this cause he was appointed to the
Moderator's chair in 1865, and within two months two American colleges
bestowed on him the degree of D.D.
In 1867 the old manse was sold, and the proceeds were devoted, along
with ^680, to the erection of another, ^430 being raised by the people, and
^250 being allowed by the Board. Dr Marshall's health having given way,
it was arranged in the latter part of 1872 that he should retire from active
•duty on an allowance of ^52 a year, with manse and garden. A fortnight
later he was presented with ^1500 from friends throughout the denomination
" in recognition of his services to the church of which he had been so long a
minister, to Christian union, and to the cause of civil and religious liberty."
In May 1873 the congregation presented a call signed by 180 members
to Mr Walter Duncan, but he declined, and afterwards accepted Dumbarton
{Bridgend).
Seventh Minister. — Thomas Granger, from Hamilton (Blackswell).
Having refused Lumsden he was ordained as colleague and successor to
Dr Marshall, 28th October 1873, the stipend being ^157, los. in all. In
May 1865 the present church had been opened, with over 500 sittings, and
built at a cost of about ;^i25o, but without any entail of debt to burden their
future. However, after some years the pressure of the double pastorate
began to be felt, and, owing partly to a collapse of trade, the income, instead
•of rising to meet additional requirements, fell off to the extent of ^34 a year.
In adjusting money matters at a transition time there is danger of too little
allowance being^ made for adverse contingencies, and in 1878 it was agreed
that Dr Marshall's retiring allowance of ^52 a year should be paid from the
central fund, and the junior minister should also have ^20 for house rent
and a share in the surplus. Dr Marshall had meanwhile regained strength,
and was largely employed in preaching, though he resigned the pulpit at
Coupar-Angus to his colleague. Having gone to supply at Dysart he took
seriously ill in the vestry on Sabbath morning, and died next day, 23rd August
1 880, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and fiftieth of his ministry. Of the
570 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
works he left behind him that which bears the deepest stamp of his own)
personaHty is the book entitled "Principles of the Westminster Standards]
Persecuting." There is much in it which reminds us of Adam Gib, but with.i
less of keen-edged insight and more of broad, rough momentum. His]
Memoir of his father-in-law, Dr Young of Perth, gives with a vigorous pen]
the facts of his life rather than the man himself His " Historic Scenes" in'
Forfarshire and Perthshire and his " Men of Mark in the British Churches" :
filled up his years of partial retirement agreeably and not unprofitably. His;
successor labours on with a membership which has come down to little more i
than half of what it was in pre-Disruption days. As in similar cases, families
who used to come from a distance of some miles have dropped into other
churches, and the population of the parish has been reduced by more than
one-fifth within thirty years. At the close of 1899 there were 150 names
on the communion roll, and the people gave ^120 of the stipend, besides the
manse.
COUPAR-ANGUS (Relief)
The earliest reference to a Relief congregation in Coupar-Angus is found
in the Minutes of St Ninians Presbytery, 14th April 1789, when sermon
was applied for. But this takes us back to July 1788, when the Antiburgher
session held a conference about a Weavers' Association with which some
members of the congregation were connected, and which had recently
acquired notoriety by marching in procession through the streets. It came
out that on being admitted to this society the parties engaged, with the
solemnity of an oath, to keep certain things secret of the nature of which
they were as yet entirely ignorant. The session referred the matter to the
Presbytery, who advised them to deal with the offenders as to the sinfulness
of their conduct. This action, coupled with the high ground taken up on
covenanting, seems to have led to the formation of the Relief church at
Coupar-Angus. The rights to their plot of ground were made out in March
1790, and by that time the church, with 700 sittings, and the manse were
finished.
First Mmister. — James Grimmond, fi-om Kinclaven. Having attended
the Philosophical Class for two sessions he entered the Antiburgher Hall in
1778 ; but from 1781 he is lost sight of till 1788, when he applied for licence
to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow. When a preacher he was called to
Waterbeck and Coupar-Angus, and, preferring the latter place, he was
oi'dained some time in 1790. That day he asked the Presbytery's permission
to proceed to an election of elders, and in due time three were ordained, andj
other three were added in the following year. In those days this session]
do not seem, any more than Mr Allan's, to have erred on the side of laxity!
in their exercise of discipline. At a meeting in 1793, for example, a member!
compeared, and was admonished for having set out on a Sabbath evening"!
to a distance in order to be ready for his marriage on Monday. Mr GrimrJ
mond's stipend when he went to Coupar-Angus was to be ^75, and a manse.!
On 25th November 1802 he accepted a call to Dumbarton (now Bridgend),!
and was loosed from his charge. Glasgow Presbytery, being much dis-
satisfied that this was done without their representative being present,|
though the commissioners from both congregations were forward, com-
plained to the Synod, and Perth Presbytery was censured for having
transgressed the laws of the Church.
When Mr Grimmond was in Coupar-Angus his near relatives occasionec
much trouble to the Antiburgher session of Perth. Before he was ordainec
0t all two sisters of his were dealt with for attending a service in the Reliei
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 571
communion, probably when their brother was preaching. In 1798 his
father, William Grimmond, who had long been an elder in Kinclaven, was
brought up for going ever and again to the Relief church. He claimed
liberty to hear his own son as occasion offered, and altogether the session
found him "in a very unruly and obstinate disposition." Denied the rights
of membership he appealed to the Presbytery, who dismissed his complaint
as groundless. The affair got publicity through a pamphlet of Rowland Hill's.
William Grimmond, he says, had to quit the Antiburgher connection for the
above reason after he was in his eighty-third year.
Second Mmtsier.— ].\u^s Smart, translated from Largo, and had been
ordained at Mainsriddell twelve years before. Inducted, 23rd November
1803. The stipend was now ^95, with house and garden, and ^5 was to be
added for every ^100 of debt paid off. Mr Smart died, 28th July 1807, in
the forty-fifth year of his age and seventeenth of his ministry. The congrega-
tion spoke of him as "their late worthy pastor," and the certificate he
brought with him from Dysart Presbytery bore that "he had laboured with
much success in his former charge."
Third Mim'sUr.— William Dun, M.A., from the Antiburgher church,
Dennyloanhead. Soon after obtaining licence he was called to Milngavie,
but he held back, and the call was allowed to lapse. Then came Coupar-
Angus, amidst opposition from a party whose withdrawal was the beginning
of a Burgher congregation in the place. Mr Dun was ordained, 30th
November 1808, and the stipend appears to have been ^130, with manse
and garden. The communion roll must have suffered from the partial dis-
ruption, and the session had some dealings with an elder years afterwards
for speaking against the minister and the way in which he was elected. At
a conference with office-bearers in 1821 Mr Dun cheerfully agreed to sur-
render ^10 of his stipend, the reduction to continue until the debt of the
congregation was reduced to ^600, which implies that the burden was great.
In 1824 a remarkable arrangement was come to : " It was settled that con-
gregational meetings should be given up, and that a meeting should be
called in every elder's quarter once a year to give a statement of the con-
gregational funds, and choose a manager if required." This would be de-
signed to meet the difficulty of getting the people together for the transacting
of ordinary business.
In October 1825 steps were taken to have an assistant and successor
appointed to Mr Dun. Though he was little over fifty his health had
suffered through the bursting of a blood-vessel. He explained to the Presby-
tery that, owing to his late indisposition, and his fear that the whole work
would retard his restoration, he went in with the proposal. His stipend was
^i 10, and he was to give not less than ^30 nor more than ^40 to the junior
minister, retaining the manse and garden, and the colleague's stipend was to
be made up to ^70 in all by the congregation. Mr Dun was not bound to
preach more than once each Sabbath, but if able he would be expected to
take his full share of pastoral duties. Of the adjustments made in the
Presbytery one reads: "While Mr Dun is able to do any part of his minis-
terial duties he shall hold the Presidency in the religious worship and
government of the congregation, he shall preside as Moderator of Session,
administer the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, e.\amine those who are elected
to the eldership, and applicants for admission to membership." No wonder
that this caused dissatisfaction and had to be expunged, the two ministers
being assigned equal powers.
Fourth Minister. — David Reston, from ToUcross, Cilasgow, an elder
brother of the Rev. James Reston, afterwards of Dundee. Ordained, 15th
March 1826. Mr Dun died, 17th May 1829, in the fifty-sixth year of his age
572
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and twenty-first of his ministry. A tombstone in remembrance of his un-
wearied exertions also records that his wife died at Melbourne in 1852,
" separated 15,000 miles from the dust below." One of their daughters was
the wife of Dr George Turner of Samoa. Mr Dun published a number of
books, of which the most important was a Life of St Columba, and the most
interesting a biographical notice of his daughter Martha, who died young.
The pamphlets which passed between him and Mr Allan of the Antiburgher
Church on covenanting leave the question much as it was, and the warfare
between them would not sweeten the atmosphere of dissent at Coupar-Angus.
Mr Reston's stipend was now to be ^100, with house, garden, and some
ground attached. In 1836 he returned the communicants at 450, and 85 of
the families were from other parishes. As the annual income at this time
was about ^160, and as the incidental expenses were slight, there must have
been a big sum required to meet the interest on borrowed money. In 1845
they received ^120 from the Debt Liquidating Fund, but what amount the
congregation raised is not stated. On 22nd February 1848 Mr Reston laid
his resignation on the table of Perth Presbytery. Differences had arisen
between him and his people, and a committee was appointed to effect a
reconciliation, but Mr Reston had a definite end of another kind in view.
On 2 1 St March he urged the acceptance of his resignation, and, the commis-
sioners having made a request to the same effect, the Presbytery dissolved
the pastoral tie. Mr Reston now declared himself out of connection with
the U.P. Church, and two months afterwards his petition to be received into
the Establishment was laid before the General Assembly. The reasons he
assigned for making the change were that the Voluntary principle is inade-
quate for the support of religion throughout the country, and that loose views
on the Atonement prevailed in the denomination he had left. This last was
a kind of makeweight which did service on such occasions. Having been
received without gainsaying he was inducted in 1850 into the quoad sacra
church at Elderslie, where he died, 17th April 1877, in the eighty-fourth year
of his age. At his jubilee in March 1876 he had been presented with an
address, " expressive of the admiration in which he was held by the
Presbytery of Paisley."
After Mr Reston's removal from Coupar-Angus the congregation first
called Mr George Morris, who was ultimately ordained at Dairy, Ayrshire.
The stipend was now reduced to ^90, with manse and garden. After a
considerable time they called Mr John Ballantyne, but either cordiality was
wanting or large defections had intervened, as the signatures were down
from 156 to 106. Mr Ballantyne declined Coupar-Angus, and obtained
Lilliesleaf. On 25th February 1850, commissioners appeared before the
Presbytery, and stated that the congregation had become connected with
another body. It was the Evangelical Unionists they joined, and in that
connection they still remain. The property, according to the original
charter, was " to be held for the use and behoof of those subscribers w"lio
adhere to the reverend Synod of Relief." This might have furnished a
foothold for litigation, but, fortunately, there was no protesting minority to
claim possession, and the property was probably burdened beyond its market
value. Since then the congregation has had a succession of ministers, but
though connected first with the Evangelical Union, and now with the wider j
Congregational Union, it seems to have adhered to the old name. This is '
shown by a tombstone, which reads thus : " Erected by the Relief congre- '
gation, Coupar-Angus, in memory of James Stewart, builder here, who died,
• 3rd August 1 861, aged 85, and who generously conveyed his whole property,
heritable and movable, for the support in all time coming of the preaching :
of the gospel in the Relief Church, Coupar-Angus.''
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 573
COUPAR-ANGUS (Burgher)
When the Relief congregation in Coupar-Angus was about to call Mr
William Dun a number of the members opposed the movement ; but the
majority persisted, carried their point, and obtained their man. A year and
a half passed without healing the breach, and on 12th June 1810 a petition
for sermon signed by 52 persons was laid before the Burgher Presbytery
of Perth, who without further inquiry granted supply. On ist October 181 1
an accession was given in from 46 persons, who were recognised as a
congregation. This was followed in September 1812 by a grant of ^20
from the Synod " to enable them to build a meeting-house," and next month
a moderation was applied for, with the promise of ^100 for stipend, with ^5
for each communion. The Presbytery wished to know in what way they
were to make up that money, and recommended them " to let their seats."
It would seem from this that the church, which had accommodation for 400,
was already finished. At next meeting they represented that they could
let 232 sittings, which would yield ^29 in the half-year. In April 1813
four elders were ordained and one inducted who had held office in Scone.
They now called Mr Andrew Young, but he was appointed by the Synod to
Lochmaben. They now tried an ordained minister, the Rev. William
Proudfoot of Pitrodie, but though his congregation was small the Presbytery
without a vote decided not to translate.
First and only Minister.— 'Dx^iv.h M'Lean, from Mauchline. The call
was signed by 47 members and supported by 333 adherents, either a tribute
to the attractions of novelty or evidence of an extensive beating up for names.
Mr M'Lean was already on trials for ordination at Cumbusnethan, but the
Synod decided for Coupar-Angus, influenced, probably, by the appearance
of a large and flourishing congregation, and Mr M'Lean was ordained, 28th
June 181 5. For the next five years we meet with no signal of distress,
but in April 1820 the Presbytery was appealed to for advice by reason of
pecuniary embarrassments. Of the 333 who joined the handful of members
in inviting Mr M'Lean to Coupar-Angus how many may have placed them-
selves under his ministry ? The mixed multitude had gone their several
ways, and left the faithful few to look realities in the face. But they found
encouragement at this time from a student who came from Alyth, a distance
of six miles, to worship with them, taught the Sabbath school, and took much
interest in the struggling cause. This was Mr David Smith, afterwards
Dr Smith of Biggar.
To meet the difficulties of the situation the Presbytery suggested that
Mr M'Lean should obtain collections from some of the ablest congregations
of the body, and members would preach for him during his absence. A
grant of ^"20 was also obtained from the Synod, but these things only put
back the evil day. No effective help came, though the North Church, Perth,
on one occasion sent the minister £\2, los. to meet arrears of stipend. In
the summer of 1823 deliverance came to Mr M'Lean in the shape of a
largely-signed call from the congregation of Largs, and on i6th September
the Synod without a vote sanctioned the translation. What might remain
for the congregation now ? As the sister church in Coupar-Angus was
virtually vacant the circumstances were favourable for union, but within
half-a-year a moderation was applied for, the stipend promised being ^100.
The membership was given at 120, but at none of the calls which followed
did the signatures come up to half that number. The moderation was
granted, but the person called was to be informed that if he accepted "he
had no reason to expect the concurrence of the Presbytery in any application
for foreign assistance." Most of the members of that Court were from the
574
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Antiburgher side, and the feeling among them might be that the Burgher
church in Coupar-Angus ought never to have had existence.
This call was addressed to Mr James Garrett, with 58 names appended.
There was delay in sustaining, because there were reports of improper
correspondence between the parties ; but Mr Garrett accepted Muirkirk,
where he was ordained, and the affair was allowed to drop. A year later
Mr William Carswell, afterwards of Eaglesham, was asked to fill the
situation, but he wrote decidedly declining acceptance. They now called
Mr Robert Paterson, who was afterwards in Greenloaning. A paper
given in to the Presbytery at this time showed that the people, not
without reason, were out of temper. On 13th March 1827 Mr Paterson
appeared, stated reasons for declining, and the call was set aside. This
brought the winding-up, and Coupar-Angus (Second) never again appears
on the list of vacancies. One reason for holding on so long may have been
that, if it ceased to be a going concern, their liabilities might never be
met. The property was heavily burdened, and a church in a place like
Coupar-Angus is not, in ordinary circumstances, a marketable commodity.
Union was now aimed at, and after prolonged manipulation the First
congregation agreed to receive the members of the Second congregation as
individuals, and allow them Church privileges, it being understood that,
instead of contributing to the funds, they would exert themselves to clear
away their own congregational burdens. We find that 30 members acceded
to Mr Muirhead's congregation on the above terms, but what the debt
amounted to, and whether it was ever entirely discharged, is nowhere dis-
closed. One bill, we know, had ultimately to be met by Dr Smith of Biggar,
who from friendly feeling in former days had, along with some others, made
himself responsible for payment. Such was the sombre history of the
Burgher Church in Coupar-Angus, and such was the troubled close.
"Vv
ERROL (Antiburgher)
The earliest notice of Errol in the Secession records is on ist July 1740,
when three men from that parish, one of them an elder, acceded to the
Associate Presbytery. On 23rd November 1752 the session of the North
Church, Perth, had a paper laid before them from members in and about
Errol asking to be erected into a distinct congregation. They had been
getting supply before this, and the session agreed to fall in with their wishes,
as it would probably strengthen their hands " in promoting the cause and
work of the Lord in that corner." In July 1755 Perth session granted them
^7 " to assist in building a house for public worship," and a collection was
made that summer at Abernethy for the same purpose. On 9th January
1759 the application to be congregated was renewed, and a paper was also
given in from 53 persons not in accession earnestly desiring the Presbytery
to send as frequent supply of preaching as possible to Errol. The death of
the parish minister in the previous June may have done something to
prompt this outside movement. The congregating was agreed to, and on
8th May four of their number were ordained to the eldership, and these,
along with another from Perth, formed the original session of Errol. About
this time there was some talk of a coalescence with Dundee, the design
being to have the two places served by one minister, but it came to nothing.
First Minister. — ROBERT Watson, from Brechin. Ordained, 22nd
October 1760 As the call had 57 signatures we conclude that these could
not be all male members, as was common in Antiburgher calls. That
lumber of men would make the congregation as large at its origin as it
I
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 575
ever was afterwards. In a biographical notice of Mr Watson in the
Christian Magazine he is spoken of as methodical in his style of preaching
and in all his ways. But the Secession cause did not make much progress
in Errol, and towards the close of the century the rise of a Relief congrega-
tion in the town lessened the chances of increase. Mr Watson died, 2nd
February 181 3, in the seventy-seventh year of his age and fifty-third of his
ministry. All that remains of his pen is a sermon he preached at the
opening of the Provincial Synod of Perth in March 1789, entitled "The
Reply of Faith to the Enemies of Zion considered." It is ingenious in
arrangement, precise in language, and thickly set with Bible texts. In less
than three months after Mr Watson's death the Synod appointed Mr James
Harvey to Muckart in preference to Errol. There is also mention of
Mr James Reid, afterwards of Sanquhar, having been called to Errol, but
on the ground of ill-health he refused to undertake a pastoral charge at
that time.
Second Minister.— ]0\m Lamb, from Brechin (City Road). Ordained,
I2th April 1814, "the attendance," says the Christian Magazine, "being
very large, and the services conducted in the open air." Nearly fifty-four
years had passed since the former ordination, and nearly fifty-seven were
to pass before there was another. In a Memoir of Mr Lamb which appeared
in the U.P. Magazine for 1876 it is stated that his father left the Established
Church towards the end of last century on account of an unpopular minister
being thrust into the collegiate charge of the parish, but there must be
some mistake here. The two young ministers ordained at Brechin about
that time were James Burns and Robert Coutts, both of whom were wel-
comed by the people, and proved themselves devoted and evangelical
ministers. There was, however, a case from Brechin before the Assembly
in 1798, when Mr James Garie, who had received the presentation, was
declared by the Moderates to be disqualified, the ground alleged being that
he had not received his education at one of the Scottish Universities. The
decision was ascribed to want of sympathy with a pure gospel, and it gave
rise to much dissatisfaction. But, whatever was the occasion, the adhesion
of that family to the Secession when Mr Lamb was in his boyhood brought
strengthening to the Antiburgher cause in Brechin. Errol congregation
in the earlier part of Mr Lamb's ministry was much beholden to the mother
church at Perth. In 1822 they received from that source ^12, los., in 1823
^15, and in 1825 it is entered : "Errol requires a new manse ; the old manse
has been burnt, and it is impossible to find suitable accommodation for the
minister in the village." This brought them first ;^ii, and then ^7, 15s.
Errol also shared in the little the Synod had to give, amounting generally
to ^10 a year.
In 1838 th'e membership of the congregation was 120, and of those in
attendance all were parishioners except 1 1 from St Madoes, 5 from
Kinfauns, and 3 from Inchture. In 1839 the debt of ^216 on the church
property was almost cleared away, the people raising ^75 and the Board
allowing .1^125. The second church, built in i8og, with 240 sittings, and
the new manse in 1826, had cost between them ^710. Of this sum the
congregation, though weak in numbers, contributed ^356, and received
;^I40 from sister congregations, leaving fully the above sum still to be paid.
On this burden being removed the grant from the Synod Fund ceased for
the time. In 1854, through the dissolution of what had been the Relief
congregation, there was the accession of a few families, with better means
of increase, and the communion roll rose from 107 in 1854 to 122 in 1858.
For Mr Lamb the monotony of ministerial work in a narrow sphere was
\aried by the duties of Presbytery Clerk, an office which he held for thirty
576 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
years, and in which his sagacity was often of much service. In 1870, when
he had reached the advanced age of eighty-three, he retired from active
duty, and went to spend his closing years in Brechin. He died there, 19th
October 1875, in the eighty-ninth year of his age and sixty-second of his-
ministry.
Third Minister. — JAMES S. SCOTLAND, from Wilson Church, Perth.
Called previously to Keith and to Aberdeen (now Carden Place). Ordained
as colleague to Mr Lamb on loth January 1871, and loosed, 20th May 1879
on accepting a call to Newport-on-Tay. The congregation now called Mr
Robert Mackenzie, who declined, and was afterwards settled at Blantyre.
Fourth Minister. — Adam Baillie, from Nigg, in Ross-shire. It was
a time when openings were numerous, and Mr Baillie, after declining Nairn,
Shapinshay, Fenwick, and Portree, was ordained at Errol, 12th April 1880.
The membership in December 1899 was 116, and the stipend from the
people ;^io5.
ERROL (Relief)
In December 1794 Mr David Dow, son of the minister of Dron and a
brother of the minister of Kilspindie, was presented to the parish of Errol.
Through opposition the ordination was kept back for ten months, but it
was effected on 24th September 1795. O" '^th March 1796 a number of
people about Errol represented to the Relief Presbytery of Perth their
destitute condition, and craved supply of sermon. The Minute bears that
after hearing the commissioners the Presbytery were persuaded that the
people had been deprived of their rights and stood in need of the gospel.
Sermon followed on alternate Sabbaths till fuller supply was arranged for.
The church, with sittings for 700, was built that year, and the minister stated
in 1838 that it was said "to have been erected chiefly by voluntary contribu-
tions, and that much of it was done gratuitously."
First Minister. — Charles Cumming, a native of Cireenock, and brought
up in the Established Church. Having obtained licence from the Relief
Presbytery of Glasgow he was sent to supply at Errol five successive
Sabbaths, and when a moderation was granted he was sent back other
four Sabbaths. As a rule the Relief were more on their guard than the
Secession against premature action in the matter of calls. Ordained, 9th
February 1797. The stipend was to be ^80, with a house, and £fo in name
of expenses. In the early part of 181 5 pulpit supply was needed for Mr
Cumming, as he was in distress, and he died on 26th August of that year,
"after a long and painful illness, which he bore to the. last with that sub-
mission and patience which become a true believer in the doctrines he
taught." He was in the forty-ninth year of his age and nineteenth of his
ministry. Mr Cumming was twin-brother to the Rev. Archibald Cumming
of Colinsburgh, and his eldest son, Mr Peter (i. Cumming, who was about
fifteen when his father died, became a licentiate of the Established Church,
and died at Colinsburgh, 19th January 1875, in his seventy-fifth year.
During this vacancy the congregation called the Rev. Thomas G.
M'Innes, a name on which we are tempted to linger. He was a native of
Stirlingshire and a graduate of Edinburgh University. On 25th August
1815 he was ordained for Halifax, Nova Scotia, but in 1819 Errol peoplej
invited him to return and become their minister. The Presbytery delayed!
concurrence, and in July they laid the call aside, as requested by the|
congregation. From Dr Struthers' History, and from an American source
of" information, we gather some particulars about Mr M'Innes. In student'
da^s his mind was unhinged, and in Halifax he early showed symptoms of
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 577
the same malady. This must have been about the time Errol congregation
brought out their call. In the beginning of 1820 he left abruptly for the
United States, and regained mental composure during the voyage. Having
arrived at Philadelphia he was engaged as a home missionary, and after
preaching in several parts of the city, where he drew large audiences,
he was installed as pastor of the Ninth Presbyterian Church on 12th May
1820. But his old enemy woke up anew, and he died, 26th August 1824, in
the thirty-fourth year of his age, having sunk, says Dr Struthers, under a
severe paroxysm of his disorder. The testimony comes from Philadelphia
that, besides being an excellent preacher, he was " a man of great integrity
and benevolence of character," and that the congregation erected a hand-
some gravestone to his memory.
Second Minister. — David Russell, who had resigned Hawick (Allars)
some time before, and was inducted to Errol, 21st June 1820. The stipend
was to be ^85, with house rent, and ^5 for expenses. In 1838 there were
256 members, which was more than double the Secession congregation, and
all except some two families resided within the parish. The seats were let
at an average of scarcely 4s. a year, and did not produce ^40 in all. At the
end of 1846 the communicants were reported to the Presbytery at 176. The
debt was ^90 and arrears of stipend .1^115. The ordinary collections
amounted to nearly ^70, but the seat rents gave only 14 guineas. To make
matters worse, Mr Russell became incapacitated for work through a
mental ailment, and Perth Presbytery reported to the Relief Synod in 1847
"that Errol Church had been receiving regular supply of sermon since
November last, owing to the severe and protracted illness of their minister."
In May 1848 the United Synod arranged for an allowance of ^30 to Mr
Russell, the congregation to pay him other ;^20. In this connection a bond
in his possession for stipend required to be cancelled, a concession to which
his family, acting for him, readily agreed, and the people were thus relieved
of legal liability for the ^90 a year which they had engaged for.
In the summer of 1848 a deputation from a Committee of Synod went to
Errol with a view to the union of the two churches under the pastorate of
Mr Lamb, but this congregation preferred to remain separate. In January
1849 they put in for another minister, though, after deducting the ^20
promised to Mr Russell, they could not go beyond ^80. The moderation
was granted, but five of the Presbytery "craved to have it marked that they
took no part in this decision." It had an ungracious look, especially as all
the five belonged to the Secession side of the church. The minister called
was the Rev. Robert Gemmell of Temple Lane, Dundee, and the signatures
amounted to 193 in all, 46 of these being adherents. The call was declined,
and another followed forthwith to Mr George Morris, who accepted Dairy,
Ayrshire. When matters were in this state Mr Russell felt himself able to
resume work, and the people desisted from further attempts to procure a
colleague ; but in January 1854 the Presbytery received a memorial from the
congregation "bearing that their pastor was again subjected to the affliction
under which he formerly laboured," and they also intimated that they were
no longer able to support the ordinances of religion among them. The last
notice comes up on 6th January 1855 in the form of a petition "craving that
their affairs be finally settled " ; but the Presbytery refused to take any part
in the winding-up, the congregation having, without sanction, "discontinued
public worship and every form of Christian communion as an associated
body."
The Rev. John Caird was now parish minister of Errol, and the congrega-
tion in their disheartened state were in the mood for being attracted back
to the church their fathers had left half-a-century before. The family of
II. 20
578 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
their aged minister and two or three others placed themselves under the
ministry of Mr Lamb ; but numbers had already joined the parish church,
and those who kept together to the end followed, it is believed, in a solid
body. A difficulty now arose over the provision promised to Mr Russell.
The Synod continued to pay the ^^30 year by year ; but the £^10 was beyond
recovery, and the deficit was not made up till 1857, when he was admitted
an annuitant on the Fund for Aged and Infirm Ministers. Mr Russell died,
1 2th July 1868, in the eighty-fourth year of his age and fifty-seventh of his
ministry. He was dead to the world many years before. One of his sons
was Mr Scott Russell, the well-known engineer.
PITRODIE (Burgher)
This congregation originated in connection with an unpopular settlement
in the parish of Kilspindie, though the hamlet of Pitrodie is within the
bounds of Errol parish. In August 1788 Mr Anthony Dow, afterwards
D.D., son of the minister of Dron, was appointed to the vacant charge by
the Presbytery, and ordained, 12th February 1789. Dissatisfied, probably,
at not being allowed their choice under \hG.jus devoluttan Act, some people
in and about Kilspindie petitioned the Burgher Presbytery of Perth for
sermon, 7th October 1788, which was granted at once. The station was
opened on the third Sabbath of October, and a session was constituted on
14th July 1790. But prior to this the building of a meeting-house was pro-
ceeded with, as in October 1789 the Burgher congregation of Perth collected
;^8, I2s. 6d. to assist in erecting a place of worship in Kilspindie, but they
stipulated that the money was to be returned if a settlement were not obtained.
According to a brief account of the congregation by the Rev. John Hunter,
their fourth minister, it was a clay church, and built for the most part by
voluntary labour. He also mentions that one of the leading men in the
movement was a farmer who had been a member of the Antiburgher church
in Errol, but owing to a dispute with the session had withdrawn. In this
way the new formation had at least one germ of old Secession life at its
centre from the beginning.
First Minister. — JOHN Kyle, from Kinross (West), where he had
laboured for fourteen years amidst much discomfort. The first call was laid
aside owing to informalities and because it was not written on stamped
paper. Another followed, and Mr Kyle was inducted on 15th June 1791.
The call was signed by 51 members, and the stipend was to be ^50 a year,
with house, garden, and the upkeep of a horse. But even this stinted pro-
vision proved too much for the people's ability, and within a few years Mr
Kyle represented that all they could give him was ^30 a year, but if the ^10
he received from the Synod Fund were raised to ^15 he was willing to con-
tinue. The Synod were under obligation to care for him, for they constrained
him to accept a divided call to Kinross in the face of his own remonstrances,
and when the place got too hot for him they transferred him to Pitrodie.
From the report of a Presbyterial Committee we can gauge with accuracy
the state of the congregation. There were about 50 members and between
10 and 20 ordinary hearers. They had 62 seats let, yieiding ^9, los. a year.
At the summer communion they raised ^5 and at the winter communion
''"'J. The weekly collections averaged 6s. 8d. and the special quarterly
■pictions ^i. From the entire income of not over ^^36 they had to deduct
Xr infofthe feu and ^2, los. for a house to the minister. Still, at a meeting
daVs his jf ''^sbytery's Committee they all testified " that they were in earnest
i
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 579
for the continuance of the gospel among them, and would do their utmost
to support their minister." As for Mr Kyle, when the Synod suggested
Nova Scotia to him he preferred to keep by Pitrodie.
Towards the end of 1796 there was a disruption in the parish church of
EiTol, and though the great body of the dissentients combined to form a
Relief congregation in the town, a few families joined Pitrodie. It appears,
accordingly, from the Presbytery Minutes that there was at this time an
improvement in the state of their affairs, there being in March 1797 the
following entry : — " Kilspindie gives their minister ^8 more per annum." A
manse, with five rooms, was also erected on the church property, both it and
the stable, as Mr Hunter states, being, like the meeting-house, built of clay.
Mr Kyle had also half-an-acre of ground, and the farmers drove what coals
were needed. Such were the arrangements which this little body of people
made for the sustenance of their minister. Mr Kyle died, 24th January
1800. He was in the twenty-third year of his ministry, and it appears from
the register of Cathcart parish that he was born in June 1744, so that he
was in the fifty-sixth year of his age. Mr Hunter has described him as an
able preacher, but not popular from the manner of his delivery. His son is
referred to under Kirkintilloch.
Not till after eight years were Pitrodie people prepared to face the re-
sponsibilites of a second pastorate. During that period their circumstances
had been greatly bettered, and instead of ^38 they now undertook ^80, and
it is explained that " a few of the members had agreed to subscribe a certain
sum annually to enable the congregation to give this." Their call, addressed
to Mr Alexander Campbell, was preferred by the Presbytery to another from
St Andrews, but the Synod ultimately assigned him to Irvine. Now came a
further delay of three and a half years at Pitrodie.
Second Minister. — William Proudfoot, from Peebles, but a native of
Manor parish. The call was signed by 80 members and 75 adherents, and
it carried in the Synod over another from Leslie (Trinity) with more than
double the names. The stipend was to be ^85, with house and garden, and
;^5 for each communion. Ordained, nth August 181 3. The membership
at this time Mr Hunter gives as 92, and he adds that 35 joined the church at
the first communion, and in a few years the membership rose to 200. Within
a twelvemonth Mr Proudfoot was invited to undertake the building up of a
Burgher congregation in Coupar-Angus, but he was continued at Pitrodie.
In 18 16 the clay-built church gave place to a larger and more substantial
edifice, which cost .1^700, and was seated for 320. This accounts for a heavy
debt on the property, entailing difficulties out of which Mr Proudfoot's popu-
larity failed to extricate the congregation, and on 5th June 1832 he demitted
his charge. The Synod at its recent meeting had fixed on Canada as a field
of Foreign Mission operations, and Mr Proudfoot had accepted an appoint-
ment to go there as one of the pioneers. The congregation sent up a paper
expressive of strong affection for their minister, but the demission was
accepted with best wishes for his success in his destined field of labour.
After taking his bearings in Upper Canada Mr Proudfoot settled down
at New London, a growing village, with a population of 500. For a number
of years he also supplied two other stations, one of them nine miles distant.
In 1848 he was appointed Professor of Theology, but his connection with the
congregation of New London remained as before. He died there on i6th
January 1851, in the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-eighth of his
ministry. He was succeeded by his son, now the Rev. Dr Proudfoot,
Lecturer or Professor in Knox College, Toronto. In the Religious Encyclo-
pzedia, edited by Dr Schaff, Dr Ormiston sums up Mr Proudfoot's character-
istics as follows : — "As a theologian he was scholarly and profound ; as a
58o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
scholar, erudite and accurate ; as a preacher, instructive and impressive ; as
a teacher, clear, logical, and inspiring."
Third Minister. — Thomas Nicol, from Selkirk. Called also to Sunder-
land (Smyrna Chapel), but the Synod, after a letter had been read from him
expressing his preferences, appointed him to Pitrodie. The right of deter-
mining in such cases was now passing from their hands, and they were
chary about running counter to the wishes of the preacher. The ordination
took place, 25th September 1833. The stipend was now ^80, v/ith manse
and garden. In 1838 the membership was 178, nearly two-thirds being in
the parish of Errol, another third in that of Kilspindie, and very few in
Kinfauns, Inchture, Kinnoull, and Kinnaird. The sittings yielded ^^40, being
let at an average of 5s. a year, and the collections ^60. Mr Nicol's minis-
terial course came to a troubled close. We have a vivid description of his
condition from George Gilfillan's pen : " He was ambitious, but got only a
small church in a rural district, where he was diligent, and for a time pros-
pered considerably. Bad times, however, arrived, and a large portion of his
flock were compelled to emigrate to America. He came into the seaport
along with 30 of his members, and bade them farewell on board the ship in
which they had taken their passage amidst fervent prayer on his part and
bursting tears on theirs. He called on me immediately after, and told me
in the quiet but gloomy tones of despair that his congregation was ruined."
Then, left among his own thoughts, "his mind became soured almost to-
frenzy, and a cloud of fierce hypochondria began to gather over his gifted
soul." In September 1843 the congregation brought before the Presbytery
their peculiar circumstances owing to the state of Mr Nicol's health, he
having been for about a year confined to his room. In March 1844 Mr
Nicol was prevailed on to demit his charge, and on i6th April his connection
with Pitrodie was dissolved. Having had pulpit supply to provide for, the
congregation was ^25 in arrears with the stipend ; but they were taking
measures to have this paid up, and the Presbytery hoped they would assist
afterwards in supporting Mr Nicol. But a grant of ^20 received from the
Synod Fund, with the above payment, must have sufficed. He died in Perth
Infirmary on 23rd August 1845, in the forty-second year of his age. "Thus
passed away," says Mr GilfiUan, "in the prime of his days, a man who in
happier circumstances might have been a distinguished ornament either of
the world or of the Church." After a year and a half Pitrodie called Mr
William Cowan, being the first of six vacancies which offered him welcome,
but Buckhaven was accepted.
Fourth Mitiister. — John Hunter, from West Linton. A year before
this Mr Hunter accepted Campbelltown, Ardersier, where he had been
located, but hostility arose, and he withdrew his acceptance. Now a door
openeH at Pitrodie, a more desirable place. The call was signed by 109
members, or 20 more than for Mr Cowan. The ordination took place, 23rd
March 1847. The debt, which had been reduced to ^300 before Mr Nicol's
illness, increased to ^380 during the troubled years which followed. How
these liabilities were met does not appear; but by 1858 the amount was
reduced to ;^5o, and before Mr Hunter's death the whole encumbrance was
cleared away. The communion roll, which stood at 132 when he was
ordained, rose gradually, till in i860 it reached 173, but from that time there
was a faint decline. Mr Hunter died after an illness often days on 12th
May 1865, in the fifty-first year of his age and nineteenth of his ministry.
He was buried in the churchyard of Kirkurd, his native parish.
Fifth Minister. — CHARLES Naismith, from Rothesay. He had also
the choice of Smethwick, in Lancashire, and Burray, in Orkney, but was
ordained at Pitrodie, 27th March 1866. The congregation, though fewer in
PRESBYTETRY OF PERTH 581
numbers, still kept by the ^80, " the stipend paid to their late pastor," with
manse and garden. The membership as reported to the Presbytery was
now 127 ; but the statistical returns from Pitrodie at that period baffle the
powers of arithmetic. Thus in 1861 the communion roll fell from 141 to 113,
though the removals exceeded the accessions by only 13, and in 1869, when
the accessions exceeded the removals by i, the total membership sank from
108 to 80. On 9th June 1868 Mr Naismith penned a note to the Presbytery
resigning his charge, that the interests of the congregation might not suffer,
he said, on account of a late serious event in his domestic circumstances.
At next meeting, on 30th June, the committee which had travelled in the
case intimated that the congregation was unanimous in favour of the resig-
nation being accepted, which was agreed to. Mr Naismith showed a sub-
missive spirit, and was to abstain from preaching till he should be able to
inform them that matters were put right. The end having been gained he
appeared before the Presbytery to be admonished, and the way was pro-
nounced clear for his return to the probationer list. He kept, however, by an
educational situation in Leith, and while he was there the rent was reopened.
In March 1870 he applied to Perth Presbytery for a certificate of ministerial
standing, as he intended to go abroad. Having obtained legal redress on
the ground of desertion he removed to Boston, United States, where he
remained three years. He then spent two years in Liverpool. Next, he
resided in Helensburgh, where he Joined the Free Church, and under its
auspices went to Australia about twenty years ago. After holding a charge
there for a considerable time he retired, and took up his residence at South
Yarra, Melbourne.
Sixth Minister. — ALEXANDER BURR, from Cambridge Street, Glasgow,
but a native of Aberdeen. Ordained, 4th May 1869. The membership was
now about 90, but they still maintained the former stipend, and the Home
Board was to grant other £bo. After going on for three years Mr Burr
resigned, explaining that "his health had not been good for some time past,
and that in the hope of its improvement he had offered himself, and had been
accepted, as a missionary to Trinidad." The congregation feeling constrained
to acquiesce the resignation was accepted, i6th April 1872. Mr Burr set
out in the beginning of May to be inducted at San Fernando ; but after
officiating there for a few months he left, under medical advice, for the
United States with his family, where he had charge of three different stations.
He died at North Dakota, United States, 5th May 1897, in the sixty-
seventh year of his age and twenty-ninth of his ministry.
The commissioners from Pitrodie now requested sermon for six months
that their prospects might be tested. A year afterwards, when the Rev. John
Munro, formerly of Creetown, was fulfilling a location among them a modera-
tion was applied for. Though the communion roll was down to 53 the
people were willing to promise the time-honoured sum of ;^8o, with manse
and garden ; but the Presbytery looked on this as an overstrain, and
thoughts of a fixed ministry were dropped. For several years the place was
filled by one theological student after another, the remuneration being /60
from the congregation, with the manse, and ^30 from the Home Board, but
in 1878 an arrangement was adopted which has gone far to combine the
advantages of a location and a stated pastorate. The Rev. William White,
who had been minister of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, Carnoustie,
from 1863 to 1873, and was now a Free Church minister without a charge,
had officiated at Pitrodie. The people unanimously requested him to give
them his services for the ensuing year, to which he agreed, and with the
sanction of the Presbytery ordinances have been kept up in that way ever
since. Eighteen years ago a union was suggested with the Free Church at
582 HISTORY OF U.P. C^ONGREGATIONS
Kinfauns, but the people " unanimously resolved that, owing to the present
attitude of the two denominations no such proposal could be entertained."
In like manner the negotiations of the Free Church Presbytery at Kinfauns
ended in failure. The membership of Pitrodie at the close of 1899 was 63^
and the money contributed for stipend was still ^60. In 1885 Mr White
was formally admitted by the Synod to ministerial fellowship with the United
Presbyterian Church.
BALFOUR (Burgher)
On 19th June 1 819 a petition from 37 persons in the parishes of Abemyte,
Inchture, and Longforgan was laid before the Burgher Presbytery of Perth
setting forth the great want of the gospel in these parishes, and expressing
dissatisfaction with the judicatories of the Established Church. Their request
for supply of sermon being granted, 26 of the applicants nine months after-
wards craved to be recognised as a congregation. On 30th May 1820 the
two members of Presbyter)' nearest them retired after sermon to separate
houses, where between them they examined 20 candidates for admission to
Church fellowship, and these, along with other 9 who subsequently came
forward, were formed into a congregation. On 21st April 1821 three of their
number were ordained to the eldership, and at the ensuing meeting of Synod
they were allowed ^10 for initial expenses. In the end of that year it was
announced in the Christian Recorder that the congregation of Balfour had
purchased the meeting-house at that place belonging to Mr Haldane, who at
the time he built it was a heritor of Abernyte parish. In February 1822 they
called Mr David Smith, promising ^75, with a glebe of two acres, besides
house and garden. The communion roll was now over 50, and of these 44
signed the call, and also 40 ordinary hearers. As if considering that this
little congregation was aiming too high the Presbyter)^ allowed meeting
after meeting to pass, and though the people petitioned them to forward Mr
Smith's settlement they failed to move a finger. At last notice came of a
call to Biggar, and the congregation intimated at next meeting that, if Mr
Smith showed no preference for Balfour, they would forego all claims to his
services. He was ordained at Biggar soon afterwards.
In 1827 a second and last attempt was made to secure a minister. The
membership was down now to 40, and the stipend to ^65, with no mention
of the two acres of land. The call was addressed to Mr Robert Blackwood,
but he held himself in reser\e, and was ordained at Banff three years later.
All parties seem now to have settled down into the belief that Balfour was
never to be a fully-equipped congregation. There was henceforth the
moving on in a noiseless way, with a grant of ^27 a year from the Home
Mission Fund. In 1835 the Rev. James Blyth, formerly of Urr, and now
residing in Perth, was located at Balfour for three months at the request of
the people, and his labours were reported to have been highly acceptable.
It was only by some arrangement answering to a regular pastorate that the
cause could receive justice. But instead of this preachers came and went,
the order at one period being that they were to preach during the day at
Balfour and conduct a service at Longforgan in the evening. Of these
evening meetings the Rev. A. Philip in his Histoiy of Longforgan parish
has given the following account : — "They were held in sheds and barns, and
frequently in the open air. They were largely attended, and, compared with
the canny preaching common in most country places, the barn preachings
were much enjoyed." Thither went Mr Gilfillan of Dundee once a year,
and Mr Nicol of Pitrodie oftener, and, says Mr Philip, "all these helped,
without a doubt, to cherish the higher life of the people."
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 583
In 1844 the Synod's report returned the membership at 50, and the
money contributed by the people at ^46, but by another year the roll was
down to 33, and the income to ^27. The parishes of Abernyte and Long-
forgan had each a Free church now, and it may have been felt that the
services kept up at Balfour for a quarter of a century might be dispensed
with. The end came on 30th December 1845, ^s appears from the Presby-
tery Minutes : " The Clerk reported that since last meeting the Balfour
people, finding themselves unable to support the station any longer, had
requested the preachers to be withdrawn, which he had done accordingly."
This was approved of, and the name appears no more in the records of the
denomination.
ABERNETHY AND THE SOUTHERN DIVISION
ABERNETHY (Antiburgher)
First Minister. — Alexander Moncrieff, M.A., a grandson of the Rev.
Alexander Moncrieff of Scoonie, who was both a marked man and a man of
mark in the days of the persecution. Ordained, 14th September 1720, as
minister of Abernethy, the parish to which belongs the estate of Culfargie,
of which he was proprietor. All along he upheld the cause of evangelical
truth, and sometimes in an ungenial atmosphere, of which Mr Wilson of
Perth has given a memorable specimen in his Diary. Referring to a co-
Presbyter who had preached a very offensive Synod sermon, he wrote down :
"This same man some short time after, when Mr Moncrieff of Abernethy
remarked on a young man's discourse before the Presbytery of Perth that
there was nothing of Christ in it, had the assurance to reply : ' And must
Christ still be the burden of the song?'" The particulars of Mr MoncriefFs
personal history have been given by Dr Young of Perth in one of the
volumes of " The United Presbyterian Fathers," and may be passed over
here. All along he was the most unbending of the Four Brethren, and
for the Breach over the Burgess Oath he and Adam Gib were largely
responsible.
When the time came to decide for or against accession to the Associate
Presbytery there was not entire unanimity in the session of Abernethy. At
a meeting on 20th October 1736 the question was put : "Shall we take up
the Act and Testimony?" when of the ten members present seven said Yes,
two said No, and one was silent. MrJ Moncrieff occupied his old pulpit for
other three years, and worshippers went up to Abernethy from a wide
stretch eastward, extending along the Haugh of Fife as far as the German
Ocean. After the Eight Brethren were deposed, " Mr Moncrieff, with
characteristic determination," says Dr M'Kerrow, " refused to enter the
parish church " ; but this is far from harmonising with the session records
for August 1744. The Secession church, with accommodation for 1300, was
now finished, and Mr Moncrieff brought up the question before his elders
whether they ought not to continue to worship in the churchyard till winter
came on. He had weighty reasons, he said, for asserting his right to his
former place of worship. In July 1746 the minister informed his session
that the heritors and others, in addition to locking and nailing the church
doors, which they did long ago, had now nailed and locked up the doors of
the churchyard. Then outside the gate, where the congregation was
assembled, he said : " I have kept this public place of worship till now that
I am violently thrust out from it."
584 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
On the death of Mr Wilson of Perth in 1741 Mr Moncrieff was appointed
Professor of Theology. He was among exhausting labours, though afterj
Ceres became the seat of a congregation his territories to the east were
brought within reasonable limits. But, weighted for three months of th<
year with class duties, Mr Moncrieff felt the need of a colleague, thougj
he was only a few years over fifty, and as he took no stipend the people
would have only one minister to provide for.
Second Minister. — Matthew Moncrieff, Culfargie's eldest son. Or-
dained, 1st February 1749. The moderation took place sixteen months
before ; but there was a dearth of preachers, and the Presbytery might reckot
the claims of Abernethy to be no way urgent. Though the congregation was
reduced at the Breach by large withdrawals from the parishes of Auchter-^
muchty, Strathmiglo, and Collessie, the call was signed by 294 (malej
members. In 1754 the congregation of Peebles called Mr Matthew Moncrief
but the Synod, in deference, we may believe, to the wishes of both father and^
son, decided not to transport. Of young Moncrieffs pulpit gifts we may
insert the following account from George GilfiUan : — " He preached very
short, never longer than half-an-hour, but it was like one of the bursts of
Vesuvius — all force and passion and fire. He never used notes, nor even
wrote his sermons." in floating traditions of that kind we may assume a
basis of reality.
On 7th October 1761 Mr Alexander MoncriefF died, in the sixty-seventh
year of his age and forty-second of his ministry. At successive meetings
he had been urging the Synod to lay a representation of their grievances
before the King, but he only got one of his brethren to support him. Mr
Gib resisted the proposal with characteristic energy, alleging that the step
was unwarrantable, impracticable, unreasonable, improper, irregular, unscrip-
tural, and premature ; but Culfargie was very persistent, and brought up the
subject at five successive meetings. On the last occasion he got it marked
that he claimed to have the door left open "for his exoneration," but before
another meeting death intervened. His younger son, William, minister of
Alloa, was chosen Professor of Theology in his father's place. Dr M'Kelvie
understood that the two brothers studied Theology in connection with the
EstabHshed Church before they joined the Associate Presbytery, and in
this he saw evidence of Culfargie's liberality of spirit. It is true when they
formally acceded to the Associate Presbytery they were divinity students,
but it was their father's class they had attended. Of Mr A. MoncriefiPs
daughters, three were married to Antiburgher ministers — Agnes to the Rev.
Robert Cunningham of Eastbarns ; Margaret to the Rev. George Murray
of Lockerbie ; and Jane to the Rev. Dr Pringle of Perth. Mr Moncrieff
took part with his pen in the Burgess Oath Controversy, but it is enough to
give the title of one of his pamphlets : "Artifices of the Burghers to hide
their Defections considered." At that troubled time his words contrast
with what he wrote in his student days : " One way of thinking and an
entire harmony of judgment is reserved as a valuable jewel of that crown
of glory which shall encircle the happy heads of the Church Triumphant."
In 1766 Mr Matthew Moncrieff expressed the wish to have a "helper,"
and a committee was appointed to confer with the managers relative to ways
and means. His father's generosity in taking no stipend from the people
was unfavourable to the development of liberality in Abernethy Church,
and the son, who may have got the estate under heavy burdens, could not
afford to act with like self-surrender. A short time after he became sole
pastor the following Minute occurs in the congregational records: — "The
managers, finding that their minister was in a strait for money, agreed to
borrow." At this time the ordinary income was under ^90 a year, though
I
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 585
the congregation had some 700 communicants. Now came an application
to the Presbytery for supply of preachers, and in January 1767 the elders
were going round their districts to ascertain whether there was ripeness for
a moderation. But before a colleague could be obtained the 'whole situation
was changed, as Mr Moncrieff died on nth June 1767, in the forty-second
year of his age and nineteenth of his ministry. One of his daughters was
the second wife of Dr George Jerment of London, and the grandmother of
the Rev. George Barlas of Musselburgh.
Third Minister.— Cohl-a Brown, son of the Rev. George Brown of
Perth. At the moderation Mr William Moncrieff of Alloa was proposed
for colleague to his brother, but he received only five votes. The Presbytery
appointed Mr Brown to Brechin ; but their decision was appealed to the
Synod, and while the case was pending Mr Moncrieff died. The Synod
in the altered circumstances gave the preference to Abemethy, and Mr
Brown was ordained, loth November 1767, having entered on his twenty-
first year a few days before. Of the young minister there is little to be
recorded. In the Old Statistical History he is described as "a very prudent,
sensible man, quiet and conscientious in the discharge of his duties." In
1783 the congregation was seriously diminished by the disjunction of a large
branch to form an Antiburgher congregation in Auchtermuchty, four miles to
the south. It appears from the session Minutes that whilst in 1771 over 600
intended to communicate, the entire number on the roll in 1786 was only 410.
In Mr Brown's case the premature beginning was followed by an early break-
down. In the Presbytery records for 14th April 1801 it is entered that he
was absent from distress, and there was a petition from Abernethy for
frequent supply. Though only a few years over fifty he had been struck with
palsy, which affected his right side, and he was never himself again.
Fourth Minister. — David L.awrie, the son of a farmer in the congrega-
tion. The Presbytery were not satisfied with the stipend promised, which
was only ^60 ; but they put no arrest on the movement, and Mr Lawrie was
ordained as colleague to Mr Brown, 20th June 1803. The call was signed
by 168 (male) members. With Mr Brown the close came suddenly. He died,
8th July 1805, having attended public worship the day before, and having
preached on a recent Sabbath. He was in the fifty-eighth year of his age and
thirty-eighth of his ministry. Under his successor the tendency of the
congregation was to narrow in ; but so late as the close of the century the
Secession had the ascendency in Abernethy. In the Old Statistical History
the parish minister gave 774 of the population, young and old, as Anti-
burghers, and 628 as belonging to the Established Church. Prior to the
Union of 1820 a goodly number of families, as appears from the baptismal
register, were from the town and parish of Newburgh, but most of these were
now disjoined. The formation of a church at Edenshead in 1825 also drew
off a section from Arngask and the upper part of Strathmiglo parish.
Minister and people in those days were reckoned rigidly Antiburgher in
their leanings, of which we have a lifelike forthsetting in James Skinner's
Autobiography. In keeping with these characteristics Mr Lawrie held back
from union with the Burghers, and when the Basis was adopted he was one
of fourteen who " protested for lea\ e to exoner themsehcs, if they shall see
cause." He was absent, however, from next meeting of Synod, and did
nothing further. Like his predecessor, Mr Lawrie entered on heavy
ministerial work before reaching his majority, and like him he was disabled
at a comparatively early age. In 1837 the dispensing of the communion
had to devolve on others, and from that time Abernethy rec^uired constant
supply. But more was needed if the work of the congregation was to be
efificiently carried on.
586 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Fifth Minister. — John Clark, from Morebattle, where his brother-in-
law, the Rev. Robert Cranston, was minister. Having set aside a call from
Kendal Mr Clark was ordained, 27th March 1839. When the congregation
was arranging for a second minister the Presbytery foresaw difficulties on
the score of liberality, and appointed a committee to compass proper ad-
justments. It is known that in 1812, when they were larger in numbers,
the stipend was only ^70, with the manse, and a glebe of four or five acres
— Culfargie's bequest to the congregation. They proposed now to give the
senior minister his lifetime of the manse and glebe, and they were to allow
the colleague ^100 in all. A section of the people, along with the Presby-
tery, urged a better provision for Mr Lawrie, and it was at last agreed that
the infirm minister should receive ^20, in addition to the first proposal, and
the junior minister ^80. Mr Lawrie survived other ten years, but he was
entirely laid aside from active service. He died, 21st December 1849, in the
sixty-eighth year of his age and forty-seventh of his ministry. On 21st July
1867 the present church was opened, with accommodation for 610, and built
at a cost of ^2700. Mr Clark, who had been in failing health for a consider-
able time, died on the evening of 3rd May 1885. When the Synod met on
the following day his death was announced from the chair which he had
occupied in 1881. He was in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-
seventh of his ministry. Mr Clark was a son-in-law of Dr Young of Perth.
His son, of the same name, is minister of Union Church, Kirkcaldy, and a
daughter is the wife of the Rev. John P. Hogarth, Renfrew.
Sixth Minister. — William M. Paton, B.D., from St James' Church,
Paisley. Ordained, 13th May 1886. The membership at the close of the
preceding year was 256, and the stipend from the people was to be ^175,
with the manse. Accepted a call to Sandyford Church, Glasgow, 3rd
December 1895.
Seventh Minister. — William T. Cairns, M.A., son of the Rev. David
Cairns of Stitchel. Ordained, nth June 1896. The membership in De-
cember 1899 was 177, and the stipend from the people ;^I75, as before.
ABERNETHY (Burgher)
First and only Minister. — Alexander Pirie, whose name appears in
1757 as a member of Mr MoncrieflPs congregation. Appointed in 1760 to
conduct the Philosophical Class at Abernethy, an office which he held for
two seasons. He was then remitted by the Synod to the Presbytery of the
bounds for licence that he might be missioned to America. Adam Gib
explains that he had been teaching his students " some modish affisctations,"
and they did not think it expedient to employ him as their tutor any longer.
At the Synod in April 1763 he assigned " indisposition" as his reason for not
fulfilling the appointment, and at that meeting one of his students, Mr
Laurence Wotherspoon, afterwards of Haddington, was accused of heresy.
It was next alleged that Mr Pirie had ridiculed the Synod's action in this
matter, and, worst of all, it was ascertained that he had recommended
Karnes' Essay on Liberty and Necessity to his class — a most dangerous
book, according to Mr Gib. Failing to convince him that he had done
wrong the Synod decided that he should be rebuked and deprived of his
licence. The finish is best given from their own records, which bear that
Mr Pirie, in a very passionate manner, protested against their procedure,
and appealed to the court of heaven, and immediately went ofif "uttering
some indecent and offensive speeches."
At their next meeting in April 1764 the Synod were informed that Mr
I
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 587
Pirie was preaching at Abernethy ; that a number of the people there were
countenancing him ; and that the result was the stirring up of violent ani-
mosities in that congregation against their minister and against the Synod.
His admirers by-and-by resolved to have him ordained over them, and
accordingly, in November following, Mr Pirie applied to the Burgher
Presbytery of Perth to be taken under their inspection. Queries, fifteen
in number, were proposed to him, to test his orthodoxy, and his written
answers showed him to be as sound as a bell. Then, having preached
before them, he was received into Church fellowship, and recognised as a
licentiate. At the same meeting a petition was submitted by a consider-
able body of people in and about Abernethy to be formed into a congrega-
tion. After some demur, in the interests of Auchtermuchty Church, this
was agreed to on i8th December, and an election of elders was appointed.
Then a call issued in favour of Mr Pirie, and he was ordained on 17th
July 1765.
Another storm ere long began to gather. In 1766 a pamphlet appeared,
arguing strongly against National Covenanting, and Mr Pirie was believed
to be the author. In standing up for the binding obligation of the Covenants
the Burghers were at a disadvantage, as in none of their congregations had
the bond been renewed since the Breach, and Mr Pirie told them he could
not see the use of " squabbling about a moral duty, which may not be duty
once in 70, 700, 7000 years, or to eternity." But while the Presbytery were
engaged with this question a rumour reached them that, in one or more dis-
courses preached at Abernethy, Mr Pirie had taught that the germs of the
Saviour's body were of heavenly origin, and from this the heretical doctrine
could be drawn that He was not flesh of our flesh. Witnesses were ex-
amined as to the purport of what he had said, and on 27th June 1767 the
Presbytery unanimously suspended him from office and Church fellowship,
though there is nothing to show that, on the subject of the Incarnation, he
taught anything inconsistent with the standards of the Church. At the
Synod in August he brought forward a complaint against the Presbytery
of Dunfermline, but the affair was delayed. In May 1768 the case was
dismissed as informal ; but, says Mr Pirie, " I told the Synod that the
Presbytery are men guilty of the grossest dissimulation, and that in their
paper they have asserted the most notorious falsehoods." After returning
home he set himself to scrutinise the publications of the Seceders, and
found that "their distinguishing principles were not the principles of the
oracles of God." He now sent in his declinature to the Presbytery, and
after a time the matter was allowed to drop.
Mr Pirie's congregation vouched for their minister's orthodoxy both by
representation to the Church Courts and in a printed pamphlet. He was
standing alone now ; but on loth July 1770 the Relief congregation of Blair-
logie called him to be their minister, and, amidst strife and confusion, he
entered on his new field of labour. Having occasioned convulsions, first in
the Antiburgher and then in the Burgher section of the Secession, he was
now to be instrumental in rending the Relief Presbytery asunder ; but the
particulars belong to the history of Blairlogie Church. After he left
Abernethy his people kept together for a time, and got sermon from the
Relief Presbytery of Edinburgh. All we know of them further is that they
presented a call to Mr Robert Paterson in September 1 771, on the day he
accepted Largo. But applications had been coming in before this to the
Antiburgher session from some of Mr Pirie's people to be received back
into membership ; and the process went on at intervals for the next four
years, though the whole number was only about 20, among whom were two
elders. As usually happens when a congregation breaks up, there would
588 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
be a general dispersion. The place of worship still stands, but it is noi
used as a stable.
Passing the intervening chapter in Mr Pirie's life we find that h<
removed from Blairlogie to Nevvburgh in 1778, where, according to Di
George Brown, he became a vendor of medicines. He also ministered to
little Independent or Glassite congregation ; but no baptisms by Mr Pirit
are entered in the parish register till April 1782, four years after he lef
Blairlogie. He died suddenly at Newburgh, 23rd November 1804, in th<
sixty-eighth year of his age and fortieth of his ministry. The newspapei
notice adds : " In his public character he discovered a deep acquaintance^
with the Scriptures, an enlightened mind, and great liberality of sentiment."
His collected works were published in six volumes after his death, and are
still occasionally met with. They include, besides much miscellaneous
material, "A Dissertation on Baptism," and evince great mental vigour and
acuteness. His controversial pamphlets are scathing in their denunciations,
and intensely clever. In the treatment he received in each of the three
denominations, and specially among the Burghers, he had much to induce a
burning sense of wrong, but his might have been both a happier and more
useful life had he been less given to right his own wrongs, and to fight his
own battles.
DUNNING (Burgher)
In July 1768 Mr Lewis Dunbar was presented to Dunning by the Earl of
Kinnoull. On the moderation day, out of 25 heritors, 15, including Lord
Rollo and others of high name, signed the call. The heads of families
numbered 136, of whom 30 subscribed. The elders seem to have been all
hostile, but the call was sustained. On 14th October a petition for sermon
was presented to the Burgher Presbytery of Perth from " several people in
and about the parish of Dunning." The station was opened on the fifth
Sabbath of that month by Mr James Mitchell, a preacher whom they called
some time ^fter. Then came attempts to checkmate the people at every
move, as is fully related in a valuable paper drawn up in 1844 by a com-
mittee of the congregation. First a site could not be obtained, and then
building materials were denied them. Owing to such discouragements
"few seceded from the Establishment," and the church they built was of a
very superficial kind. On 14th August 1769 they had five elders ordained,
and that same day they brought out a unanimous call to Mr Mitchell, the
probationer already named. In due course the ordination was fixed for 6th
March 1770, but when the Presbytery met there were only the Moderator
from Scone present, and his elder, and the minister from Rathillet. Of the
12 clerical members 10 were absent, including the 2 who were to officiate.
The weather must have been exceptionally severe to account for failures so
extensive. Worst of all, Mr Mitchell was not forward ; but there was a
letter from him, in which he wrote : " I have no freedom to submit to
ordination at present, though you should proceed to take my licence from
me." After public worship the people requested supply, and held forth
their distressed state by reason of this miscarriage. At next meeting
Mr Mitchell, who had been refused further appointments, compeared, pro-
fessed to look on his past conduct as sinful, and was rebuked. Thus en-
couraged, the people, after months of delay, renewed their call, but only by
a majority, and the Presbytery dismissed it. This early failure, as the
manuscript account puts it, "greatly disappointed them, and some of them
returned to the Establishment."
Mr Mitchell's action in relation to Dunning was in perfect keeping with
I
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 589
his antecedents. While he was on trials for licence before Glasgow Presby-
tery fault was found with him, and he went off abruptly, "without leave
asked or given." When a preacher he was in the way of disappointing con-
gregations and "preaching at his own hand in other places." He had now
been twelve years on the probationer list, and during that time he received
three calls, but in each case there was declinature. Dunning was the
final move. His name appears on the preachers' list till May 1775, and we
have no means of tracing him further. This trying chapter in the experience
of Dunning congregation was to repeat itself with sundry variations. They
entered into competition with Leslie for Mr James Hamilton, much against
the mind of the Presbytery. The earlier call being preferred the commis-
sioners protested and appealed, having a presentiment, perhaps, that the
Synod would befriend them on account of what they had already passed
through. If so they calculated rightly, as the Presbytery's decision was
upset, and Mr Hamilton appointed to be ordained at Dunning. It was in
September 1771 that the case was issued, but when the Presbytery met on
23rd October Mr Hamilton was neither to be seen nor heard of He was
written to, but at next meeting he was not present, nor had he replied to
their letter. The Presbytery now thought it best to leave the Synod to
enforce their own sentence, and this involved a wearisome hanging on for
five months. Before the Supreme Court Mr Hamilton succumbed, and
signified his willingness "to enter upon trials," but at the first meeting of
Presbytery he was ready with none of his discourses. Rebuke and fiiTn
injunctions had not brought him one step nearer when they met again.
Next week his case was submitted to the Synod, and of what was done there
the Rev. Patrick Hutchison, Relief minister of St Ninians, gave the follow-
ing account : — " I had occasion to attend the Burgher Synod a few years ago,
when a young gentleman who had received a call to Dunning was called to
the bar to answer for his conduct and to be censured for non-acceptance.
After the poor young man, for whom my heart Ijled, had offered to the
Synod the best apology he could for not accepting the call from Dunning a
reverend member rose up in the open Synod and moved that his licence be
taken from him." By this time the congregation, " wearied of their struggle
with his obstinacy, dropped the call," and Mr Hamilton was rebuked, with
certification that, should he give similar offence again, he would be suspended
from preaching the gospel. His name remained on the preachers' list other
ten years. It comes up for the last time in November 1782. Of Mr
Hamilton we only know further that he belonged to Cambusnethan.
First Minister. — John Mackif:, who acceded as a student of theology
to the Burgher Presbytery of Perth in January 1772. He explained
in the paper he gave in that he became dissatisfied with the preaching and
deportment of his parish minister, and having examined the Act and
Testimony of the Associate Presbytery he joined the Antiburghers, and had
Ijeen several sessions in attendance at their Hall. He further confessed
that he had no acquaintance at this time with the distinction between the
two sections of Seceders, a statement which leads to the conclusion that he
belonged to some locality where the Burghers had not got footing. On
examination, he became satisfied that approbation or disapprobation of
swearing the Burgess Oath was no fit term of communion, neither did
he approve of the system the Antiburghers had of dragging people into the
work of covenanting. Having attended the Burgher Hall at Haddington
one session he got licence, and on 5th August 1773 he was ordained at
Dunning. During his brief ministry there was progress, at least in one
way. When he went, there was no dwelling-house for the minister ; but on
1st July 1775 it is minuted that the session met in the "new manse." On
590 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
2nd April 1776 he intimated to the Presbytery by letter that he had recently
fulfilled an appointment of theirs, but within six days a small sum is entere<
in the parish register as having been paid for the mort-cloth at Mr Mackie'^
funeral.
Second Minister. — John Beugo, from Dunfermline (Queen Anne Street]
a congregation in which the family name figured at an early period. Con-
sidering that they would have a struggle to support the gospel with decencyj
the Presbytery sought and obtained the sanction of the Synod befort
granting a moderation. The call was signed by no members and 3;
adherents, and the ordination took place on 9th August 1780. On the"
morning of Sabbath, 6th October 1805, Mr Beugo expired, when in the
act of dressing for the pulpit. Dr George Brown has described him as
"of low stature, with stentorian voice fitted for tent preaching." He was
in or about the sixty-second year of his age and the twenty-sixth of his
ministry. He left a widow with five children under fourteen years of age,
the youngest being only seven months old. One son, who bore his father's
name, got licence from Dunfermline Presbytery in 1826, and withdrew from
the preachers' list in 1835. "Removed to Monkwearmouth."
Mr Beugo's death was followed by a vacancy of six and a half years,
during which the congregation issued two unsuccessful calls, each of them
signed by 82 members. The first was to Mr Alexander Brown, from Perth
(Wilson Church) ; but the Synod appointed him to Bellingham, in
Northumberland, where he was ordained, 24th August 1808, and died,
4th May 1828, aged forty-nine years. The second was to Mr Archibald
Henderson, from Bridge of Teith. Ordained at Carlisle, 30th October 1810,
and resigned, 8th April 18 18, with the view of proceeding to Canada. At
St Andrews in that colony he long occupied an isolated position, through
being in receipt of ^100 a year as a State-paid minister. In 1859 he retired
from active duty owing to loss of sight, but retained his status and the
"regium donum," and in i860 he was received into connection with the
Presbyterian Church of Canada. He was also present at the Union of
1875, ^"d, as the father of the Assembly, offered up prayer. He died, 19th
January 1877, in the ninety-fourth year of his age. His wife was a daughter
of the Rev. John Morton of Leslie.
Third Minister. — James Smith, born in Dunning parish but entered
the Hall from Lochgelly. When a student Mr Smith was engaged three
successive seasons teaching a school at Gauldry, in the neighbourhood of
Kilmany, and acted as amanuensis to the Rev. Thomas Chalmers when he
was writing the early part of his article on Christianity. The influence he
came under at that time may partly account for the energy of his own pulpit
delivery. Ordained at Dunning, 25th March 1812, Perth Presbytery having
preferred it to Newbigging, in Forfarshire. In 1806 the present church, with
300 sittings, was built, and now it was found necessary to provide the
minister with a new manse. This double undertaking, notwithstanding the
exertions of the people and a grant of ^15 from the Synod in the one case,
and of ^20 in the other, left them with a debt of over ^300. During the
first eight or nine years of Mr Smith's ministry the communion roll increased
by more than one-third ; but about 1828 an adverse tide set in, and within
two years between 60 and 70 members removed beyond the bounds of the
congregation, while only 10 came in to supply their places. It was enough
to tempt despair, but instead of this the minister and people set themselves
earnestly to have the debt reduced. Application was made to a few sister
congregations for collections, and "the minister in the year 1832 went to
London, and by the aid of a friend realised £,TJ^'' Thus ;^io4 was cleared
off, leaving ;^2 1 5. In 1844 the Debt Liquidating Board promised ^115 if
I
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 591
the people would make up the other ^95. This was agreed to, and in a
short time the oppressive burden was removed.
When Mr Smith's ministry began the stipend promised was ^90, with
house and garden. About the year 1827 Dunning began to receive aid from
the Synod, averaging j^io a year. The parish at this time was over-
churched, there being five places of worship within its bounds, and of these
four were in the village, while the whole population was only about 2000.
But by the Union of 1847 a way was opened for uniting the Secession and
Relief congregations if right feeling had prevailed. In 1849 the Presbytery
and the Home Mission Board pronounced strongly in favour of Union, the
combined membership amounting to 160. In November 1850 Mr Thorbum,
the Relief minister, was called to Gatehouse, and the Board suggested that,
if this call were accepted, Mr Smith, who was now seventy-four, might retire,
to secure the desired amalgamation. Accordingly, on 17th December he
gave in his resignation, but the end was not gained. After the demission
he received an annual allowance of ^55 from the Synod Fund, and had his
lifetime of the manse. He died, 6th June 1856, in the eightieth year of his
age, the Rev. William Boag, a former minister of the Relief congregation,
who was some years his senior, having predeceased him by eleven days.
After a vacancy of a few months Dunning congregation called Mr James
Galloway. The stipend of ^80, with manse and garden, and the callers,
85 in number, answer to their state in former days. Mr Galloway was
from Glasgow, where he was in business before entering on his course of
preparatory study. For nine years he was city missionary in connection
with Dr Eadie's Church, Cambridge Street. He was called first to South
Ronaldshay, then to Dunning, and then to Sutton, in Lancashire. The last
of these he preferred, and was ordained there, 17th June 1851. After fully
three years of energetic labour he died, i6th September 1854, in the forty-
third year of his age. This was Saturday, and he had preached as usual
on the preceding Sabbath.
Fourth Minister. — Peter Barron, from Craigdam. Ordained at
Dunning, 14th January 1852. On the second Sabbath of December 1854,
when the congregation met for public worship, Mr Barron was unable to
preach owing to the bursting of a blood-vessel in his lungs that morning.
He never resumed work again. The Synod in May 1855 granted ^20 to
aid minister and people in their trying circumstances, and on 5th June the
Presbytery authorised their Clerk to draw ^10 of this money ; but Mr
Barron died that day, in the thirty-fourth year of his age and fourth of his
ministry. His son, Mr Douglas G. Barron, after being several years a
probationer of the U.P. Church, joined the Establishment, and since 1885
he has been parish minister of Dunnottar, in Kincardineshire. His father
left the Church of Scotland in his earlier days and Joined the United Se-
cession, much to the displeasure of his relatives ; but next generation saw
the process inverted.
Fifth Mimster.—HEHRY STIRLING, from Perth (North). Like his
predecessor, he was brought up in the Establishment, but joined the U.P.
Church when an Arts student at St Andrews. Ordained, 14th January 1857,
exactly five years after Mr Barron. But prior to this Dunning had called
Mr James Y. Gibson, who accepted Melrose. In the course of Mr Stirling's
ministry, or some time before, the Relief congregation, which had become
Evangelical Union, passed out of existence, and some years later, when
Dalreoch was dissolved, 17 of its members joined Dunning, so that the
membership within the next two years rose from 130 to 146, and the stipend
from the people was raised from ^95 to ^100. In March 1863 Mr Stirling
tabled the demission of his charge with the view of going abroad, but in
592 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
compliance with the urgent entreaty of the congregation he agreed to
remain. Other eighteen years passed,iand he then retired from the ministiy,
assigning the state of his health as the reason, and on nth January 1881
the bond was dissolved. Mr Stirling died at Auchterarder, 2nd November
1883, in the fifty-fourth year of his age.
Sixth Minister. — THOMAS Watt, from Glasgow (John Street). Or-
dained, 7th February 1882. Though there are only three congregations in
the parish now, this reduction has been attended by a nearly proportionate
decrease in the population, which is not two-thirds of what it was fifty years
ago. The membership at the close of 1899 was 90, and the stipend from the
funds of the congregation ^105.
DUNNING (Relief)
The history of this congregation dates from i8th April 1803, when
certain petitioners from Dunning were taken under the inspection of the
Relief Presbytery of Perth. Mr Sangster of that town had preached to
them on the previous Sabbath, and gave a favourable account of their
prospects. The station was opened on the first Sabbath of May, and it
is understood that their place of worship was built in the following year.
There was nothing special to account for the new formation, but the move-
ment probably owed its origin to some families connected with the Relief
church in Auchterarder. Though the population of Dunning parish in the
early part of the century was only 1500 it had now three dissenting con-
gregations within its bounds. Having erected a meeting-house they called
Mr James Scott in the beginning of 1805, and, being evidently in a sanguine
mood, they promised him ^86, with a manse and garden, implying that their
building operations were completed. Within three weeks notice came that
Mr Scott had accepted a call to Dalkeith. The Relief system, allowing
the preacher to decide for himself in such cases, prevented an enormous loss
of time.
First Minister. — JOHN Laidlaw, from Banff, where he had been minister
for three years. Happening to be up at the Synod he was appointed to
preach at Dunning the two Sabbaths following. A unanimous call followed,
and he was inducted, loth October 1805. As was customary in the ReHef
Church, he asked authority at the close of the service to take steps for an
election of elders, and this was left in his own hands, without the appoint-
ment of any provisional session. The Presbytery had previously higgled
with the commissioners about the driving of the minister's coals, but on
the morning of the induction they were bluntly told that the congregation
would come under no obligation of the kind, as they had already undertaken
more than they might be able to perform. On 6th October 1813 the con-
gregation petitioned the Presbytery for sermon, informing them that their
late pastor had left them. On nth August he had presented a petition to
the Burgher Presbytery of Perth, stating objections to his present religious
connection, and requesting to be received into their communion. Several
of the members having given a very favourable account of Mr Laidlaw, his
application was recommended to the Synod, and on 21st September he was
admitted to Christian and ministerial fellowship, on the understanding that
he was to go as a missionary to Nova Scotia.
Mr Laidlaw's former brethren now took action against him, and the
affair was not terminated till May 181 5, when the Relief Synod found that
he had violated his ordination vows, and they declared him no longer a
member of the Relief body. But by this time the Atlantic was between
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 593
him and them, and that summer, on 29th June, he was inducted to the charge
of Musquodoboit, in Nova Scotia. At the Union between the Burghers and
Antiburghers in that province in 181 7 Mr Laidlaw's name appears on the
roll of Synod. How long the connection lasted between him and his new
congregation I have not ascertained, but it is said to have been " unhappy
and short-lived." He then removed to the United States, and died at
Pittsburg in October 1824. Mr Laidlaw is said in Gregg's History of the
Presbyterian Church in Canada to have been " a superior preacher, meek,
humble, and faithful," but he was unfortunate in his successive spheres of
labour.
For three years Dunning congregation now held back from a fixed
pastorate, and then they were informed by the Presbytery that if they had
no thought of calling a minister they were to expect no more sermon. This
stirred them into activity, and within three months they applied for a
moderation.
Second Minister. — WiLLIAM BOAG, from Strathkinnes, where he had
been inducted five years before. The Presbytery, when the call was pre-
sented, declared they could not transmit it to Dysart Presbytery unless they
had a legal bond for the stipend, and at next meeting the document, deemed
indispensable, was produced in due form. Mr Boagwas inducted, 6th March
1816. But the inability of the congregation to meet their liabilities came
to the surface in a few years. Inquiry brought out a membership of 1 10,
and of these a number, owing to the present state of trade, were unable to
contribute anything. Had the two struggling congregations in Dunning,
the Burgher and the Relief, contrived to conquer their antipathies and
combine into one it would have been to both like life from the dead. But,
being satisfied that Mr Boag was doing everything in his power for the
good of the cause, as were also the leading men, the Presbytery made
application to the Synod for a grant, and this brought ^10 to the funds.
Similar allowances followed, but they never enabled Dunning Church to
make up its leeway. We find next that they owed Lord RoUo a considerable
sum for feu duty, a circumstance which may have endangered their hold
of the property, and then contention arose between minister and congrega-
tion about money matters. In February 1828 the Presbytery learned that
Mr Boag, wishing to turn the bond they procured for him to practical
account, had either gone or was going to law with his people for arrears of
stipend, and they summoned him before them to say whether this was the
case. The intertangled affair was .wound up by the congregation paying
him ;^20, and the Synod becoming security that he would get other ^30
within three years. On this footing the connection was dissolved, 27th May
1828. Twelve years before this the Presbytery gave the congregat on their
choice between a fixed ministry and extinction. Better to have kept them
a preaching station, and waited for better times, than to bring them under
burdens which they were unable to bear.
Mr Boag now settled down as a teacher in Dunning, work which he had
probably carried on before along with ministerial functions. I have been
mformed that when in Strathkinnes he both taught a school on week-days
and preached on Sabbath. In 1848, when infirmities must have been press-
ing, he began to receive from the Synod Fund ;^io a year, which was
increased to ^15. He died, 26th May 1856, in the eighty-sixth year of his
age. His son George was for a short time minister of Brandon Street,
Hamilton, but predeceased his father by twenty-three years.
It would be tedious to do more than outline the windings of distress
through which this congregation passed during the vacancy of eighteen
years which followed Mr Boag's removal. In the end of 1830 the creditors
II. 2 p
594 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
brought the property to the hammer, when it was purchased for ^131,
13 members of the church taking shares of ^10 each. But the sum paid
was a great way from meeting liabiHties, and the parties who had become
security for the debt, being pressed for payment, instituted a process before
the Sheriff Court to ascertain whether certain individuals did not equally
with themselves share the responsibility. The Interlocutor of the Sheriff-
Substitute, pronounced i8th October 1839, ran thus : "That all who are, or
formerly were, members of the Relief Church, Dunning, and the representa-
tives of such as are deceased, are liable for the debts contracted previous to
the year 1830." This decree was not left inoperative, for in 1841 the Pres-
bytery found that " ^40 has already been paid by assessment on those who
are liable, reducing the sum to ^248." The Secession congregation enforced
their claim on the Board for effective aid in the extinction of their own debt
by bringing forward that this legal decision had excited fears in the minds
of the public, and was preventing' accessions to the ranks of dissent. " Some
of the Relief people," they said, " have been seriously injured, and no one
can tell what may happen."
Those trying years were marked by persistent appeals to Presbytery and
Synod for aid to keep the lamp burning, and in 1832 they requested sermon
to be discontinued. The congregation was now for ten months in a state of
suspended animation, but in March 1833 preaching was resumed. How the
people had heart to pull through is hard to understand, but so it was. In
1 84 1 the Home Mission Committee reported to the Synod that Dunning
"had been long hanging in the wind": but they gave a rose-coloured view of
the situation, and the Presbytery were enjoined to visit the church, investi-
gate into its pecuniary affairs, and inquire as to a law process in which they
were engaged. Next year the congregation was bold enough to apply for a
moderation, which issued in a unanimous call to Mr Archibald H. Milligan,
a preacher from Burnhead. At this time Mr James Drummond, afterwards
of Cupar, wrote of Dunning to a friend as follows : — " It is a small society.
My audience yesterday was not fifty. It is wonderful to see any after having
had no minister for fourteen years. They have called Milligan, and I think
he will take it." Milligan, however, did not take it, but after a long pause
declined. In January 1843 the offer was renewed, and they expected with
the help of the Synod to give him £70, but he finally intimated that " the
infirm state of his health rendered it altogether inadvisable for him to under-
take the charge of any congregation." Two years afterwards he resolved to
try his fortunes in the Established Church, into which he was received by
the General Assembly of 1845. Next year he was ordained to the East
Parish, Airdrie, but removed in 1852 to the quoad sacra church, Pulteney-
town, Wick. In 1853 he emigrated to Canada, where he was admitted to the
charge of Norvaltown, near Montreal, and in that city he died suddenly on
7th February 1855.
At the time of Mr Milligan's final declinature the Disruption of 1843 was
approaching, and this tempted the thought that the church might be dis-
posed of to advantage. On 24th April the Presbytery met at Dunning to
avert the danger. The rights, they found, belonged now to six shareholders,
one of whom had written a non-intrusion minister in the neighbourhood on
the subject. A vote of the congregation being taken "a considerable
number of hands were held up for retaining the property in the interest of
the Relief Synod," and none against. Next came an offer of £^0 or ^60
from the Debt Liquidating Fund, if this would relieve them from their
present difficulties. But at the Synod of 1844 there was a backward step
taken, the decision being "that Dunning be withdrawn from the list of
stations supported by the Home Mission Fund from and after the first
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 595
Sabbath of June." This was putting on the extinguisher, and bringing the
weary struggle to an end. In 1845 the Presbytery reported that the church
had been shut up for a time, but " the want of ordinances was severely felt."
The people, it seems, with the decree of extinction gone forth against them,
had strung themselves up to activity, and had raised ^^40 for the reduction
if the debt. This, with the ^60 promised from the Liquidation Fund, was
to leave only £2^ ; but how the ^248 of four years previous was brought
down to this humble figure is nowhere explained, and the only feasible sup-
position is that the creditors had consented to a large abatement of their claims.
The Home Mission report concluded thus : "There is no doubt the field is
excellent, and a pious, faithful minister would soon collect a flourishing
congregation." To bring prosperity it was now agreed that, in view of a
fixed pastorate, the congregation of Dunning should receive help for three
years — ^30 the first year, ^25 the second, and ^20 the third.
Third Minister. — John Thorburn, who, after being four or five years
in Aberdeen, had returned to the preachers' list. In the circumstances even
Dunning with its dim outlook may have been welcome. Inducted, 20th
May 1846. At the close of 1848, though Mr Thorburn seems to have secured
the attachment of his own people, the "flourishing congregation" the Home
Mission Committee spoke of was still a desideratum. The membership was
60, and the ordinary income for the preceding six months was scarcely ^30,
and the three years of supplement were now closing. The churches in
Dunning were both weak, and the natural course at this juncture would have
been for the two congregations to come together under the joint pastorate of
the two ministers, Mr Smith retiring into the background, and Mr Thorburn
to be responsible for the whole work. It was not to be expected, however,
that union difficulties would be got over in this way.
In October 1850 Mr Thorburn was called to Gatehouse, and before the
call was laid on the table of Perth Presbytery a deputation from the Home
Board visited Dunning to secure the consent of the two congregations to
unite. It may have made Mr Thorburn's people feel that their minister's
removal was looked on as a foregone conclusion. They seemed, however,
to acquiesce in the proposal of the deputation, but they afterwards met, and
came to the resolution " that the proposed union on the terms of the removal
of both ministers is not practicable." On 1 7th December, the day for hearing
parties and deciding on the call from Gatehouse, Mr Thorburn wished to
hold back till prospective adjustments at Dunning were considered, but this
was not permitted. Brought to the point, he accepted Gatehouse. Mr Smith
now laid on the table the resignation of his charge, the terms on which he
was to retire having been previously arranged. A paper was also read from
his congregation agreeing to the union ; but the commissioners from the
other church had left when Mr Thorburn's case was concluded, and on
starting to their feet they declared that their constituents would not concur
in the union, and had already been promised support from another quarter.
It was but fair that the burden should go round. Next Sabbath, when Mr
M'Queen of Pathstruie went to the church door, he was refused admittance,
and was told that the congregation did not wish any more sermon from the
U.P. Church. So, after reading the deed of Presbytery, he retired.
After this the congregation was connected with the Evangelical Union
for a few years, but they never had another minister. In 1855 Dunning
appears on the list of churches in that connection for the first and last time.
In the County Almanac, however, it is entered as existing in the beginning
of 1858. At last the dying process ended, and the old, plain-looking building
disappeared, the site to be occupied by a bank. Some years earlier the
Original Secession congregation in Dunning, composed of protestors against
596 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the Union of 1820, also reached the terminus of its life journey. It was not'
till 1 84 1 that they had a minister set over them, and he left for another]
charge in 1843. The Relief and they had long been rivals in weakness and
in the stand they made against extinction. In 1844 Mr Smith's people re-
ported : "The Relief have accommodation for about 300, and betwi.xt 20 and
30 individuals attend. The Original Seceders have accommodation for 176^
and about 40 attend." The two little societies had now yielded to dire
necessity, and were away into the past.
AUCHTERARDER (Relief)
The name of this congregation for the first few years was Blackford, and it
is believed that but for the difficulty of procuring a site in that parish the
place of worship would have been built there. On the removal of the
Rev. Sir Henry Moncrieff to St Cuthbert's in 1775 Mr John Stevenson, wha
had been fourteen years a licentiate, and had attained the age of forty-seven^
was presented to the vacancy, but owing to opposition he was not ordained
till 25th September 1777. Aware of what was coming the dissentients
applied for sermon to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow, and the station was
opened by the Rev. Michael Boston of Falkirk on the third Sabbath of the
preceding August. In May 1780 Auchterarder takes the place of Blackford
in the records, which makes it probable that the church, with its sittings for
550 people, was now finished, and in possession.
First Minister. — John Brown, from Jedburgh (High Street). Ordained^
25th April 1781. The stipend was to be ^70, with house and g^arden.
Three of those who signed the call had been elders in the Established
Church, and at the close of the ordination services they were "adopted to be
the session." On i6th April 1787 Mr Brown was loosed from Auchterarder,
having accepted a call to Falkirk, as successor to Mr Boston.
Secoftd Minister. — David Fergus, who seems to have been from Strath-
aven, as he was introduced for licence by the minister there. Ordained,
1 2th December 1787. Called to Cupar in 1793, but procedure was arrested,,
as he could give them no encouragement. Translated to Campbeltown,
Argyleshire, on i6th April 1805, where, though his sphere of labour was
much more important, he may have sometimes looked back with regret to
the scenes of his early ministry, and wished that the change had never been
made. A Kintyre elder of mine, who grew up under the ministry of Mr
Fergus, used, in speaking of him, to lay special emphasis on the solemnity
of his pulpit address and the gravity of his whole demeanour.
Third Minister. — John King, iDelieved to have been also from Strath-
aven. In the beginning of 1802 Mr King accepted a call to the Relief
congregation in Lady Lawson's Wynd, Edinburgh, and then drew back,
announcing that he had gone into another line of life, meaning the medical
profession, whereupon the Presbytery deprived him of licence. In 1805 he
was readmitted to the preachers' list, and having declined a call to Ford he
was ordained at Auchterarder, 6th February 1806, after he had reached the
age of forty. The stipend was to be ^iio, with manse, garden, a small
glebe, and £<•, for sacramental expenses. Towards the end of the century
the parish minister had only about ^90, so that the Rehef church does not
suffer by comparison. From the managers' books, which begin at this time,
we find that the funds were amply sufficient to meet all ordinary demands,
and the money transactions reveal an open-handedness not generally to be
looked for. The income from seat rents averaged about ^100 a year, and
the Sabbath collections came up to between ;^40 and ^50 ; while over
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 597
against these sums there were only the stipend of £] 10 and the precentor's
salary of ^3. This left a large margin for repairs and improvements.
Among the districts of the congregation in 1814 there are the names of
Blackford, Smithyhaugh, Kinkell, Gleneagles, Tulliebardine, and even
Bridge-of-Fossovvay. Mr King died, 3rd June 1833, after "a brief illness,
occasioned by water in the chest." Though only in the twenty-eighth year
of his ministry he was in the sixty-ninth of his age. It is recorded that he
was a regular attendant at sick and dying beds, not only as a minister but
as a physician.
All on from the beginning of the congregation until now there is no
trace of harmony having been imperilled. The secular affairs of the church
appear to have been in the hands of men gifted with discretion. But,
unhappily, the congregation in passing through the present vacancy had its
unity impaired. In May 1834 a short leet of three was agreed on, but it
was distinctly understood that, should any of these receive a call in the
interim, a new nomination was to take place. In a few days one of the
three — Mr William Ritchie — was called to Auchtergaven, and while matters
were in this state a preacher newly licensed appeared on the ground, and
secured acceptance with the majority.
Fou7'th J/z>//.y/^r.— George jACQUE,a native of Douglas, and brought up
in the Established Church. While apprenticed to business in Glasgow he
became a dissenter, and in student days he was connected with Calton
Relief Church. When Auchterarder congregation met to adjust the short
leet anew, Mr Jacque had 199 supporters and the Rev. James Finlay of
Pittenweem 102, the others being nowhere. Accordingly, these two were
to be pitched against each other on the election day. Had it been agreed
before the tentative vote was taken that the minority should fall in with the
majority, and the two parties combine in a unanimous call, the arrange-
ments might have had a happier issue. .\t the moderation the proportion
was much as before— 263 voting for Mr Jacque and 133 for Mr Finlay.
Unpleasantness followed, and a complaint was made to the Presbytery
that there had been much canvassing for signatures, and that " a number
of minors not yet in communion with the Church, and members of
other congregations, had subscribed." The objections being pronounced
groundless Mr Jacque was ordained, 14th January 1835. The stipend
was the same as before — ^iio, with appendages — and the membership was
between 620 and 630, and by various expedients the sittings had been
increased to 583.
Before Mr Jacque's ministry began, there were tokens that the church
had well-nigh served its day. But the old manse had first to be set aside,
and in 1836 it was agreed to build another. In 1838 the debt on the whole
property was put down at ^310, which was being liquidated by weekly
subscriptions, but it was not till 1847 that the burden was entirely removed.
Better than slight exertions protracted to weariness would have been a
strong united effort, though it might have involved a severe strain for the
time. During those years the membership was slightly on the decline, the
want of harmony at the moderation time having probably led to some
formidable withdrawals. .Still, in 1838 Mr Jaccjue put the number of com-
municants at 600, considerably more than a third being from the parish of
Blackford. Twenty-five families came from beyond four miles, a circum-
stance certain to bring decrease as Free churches sprang up round about.
Accordingly, in 1879 the number was returned at little more than 350 ; but
the funds had not foUen off, the stipend being now ^200. In 1848 the
managers were called to consider " what was to be done with the east stair,"
and to keep it from falling it had to be fixed to the church wall by bolts and
598 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
screws. Stimulus for the building of a new church came from the Sabbat!
scholars, who intimated to the elders and managers that they had sub-j
scribed ^40 among themselves to aid in the undertaking, and one of th«^
managers offered ^100 if the rest of the congregation would subscribe ^500.1
A canvass having brought out that nine-tenths of the members were in^
favour of going on, the work was proceeded with, and on 30th December
1849 the church was opened, their own minister preaching from the words r
" And the name of the city shall be. The Lord is there." The afternoon
and evening services were conducted by Drs M'Michael and Eadie, and the
collections amounted to ^140. The sittings are over 600, but the cost,
instead of ^700 or ^800, the sum that was to be kept by, came to between
^i 100 and ^1200.
The church records present peculiar features in the workings of the
congregation. At one meeting they decided that tent preaching should
be discontinued, and at another that the practice of public rebuke "is
only painful to all concerned," and ought to be abandoned. They also
declared that Church members who were irregular in their attendance on
ordinances ought to be dealt with, and a twelvemonth later they inquired
what the session had done in this matter, and urged increased exertions.
On another occasion they unanimously agreed that the number of elders
was quite inadequate for the work assigned them. Even collections for
Synodical purposes were under the control of the managers, who decided
whether they should be made, and, if so, on what Sabbath, while the Session
Minutes record nothing but cases of discipline. Mr Jacque's ministr>Tasted
fifty-seven years, and to the end he had not even an assistant. He died on
15th February 1892, a few minutes before the stroke of the midnight hour,
and his last utterance was : "Raise me higher." He entered on his eighty-
ninth year a few weeks before. As a poet he is best known by his two
hymns in the U.P. Hymnal, the former of which is retained in the Hymnary,
" Hark I how heaven is calling " and " O Thou in whom are all our springs."
He was also the author of "Tales and Sketches of Scottish Character."
Fz/Z/i Minister. — Henry Hamilton, M.A., from Dennyloanhead.
Called previously to Eday and Burnhead. Ordained, 9th August 1892.
The membership at the close of 1899 was 336, and the stipend ^200, with
the manse.
AUCHTERARDER, north (Burghf:r)
This was, in its beginnings, the old congregation of Kinkell with a new
centre and on altered lines. When Mr Imrie was deposed by the Anti-
burgher Synod in April 18 12 the bulk of his people kept by him, and in
1813 they built a church in Auchterarder at a cost of between ^400 and
;^45o, with sittings for 500. There he preached, out of all ecclesiastical
connection, till his death on 19th February 1816. In one of Dr Heugh's
letters we find the following reference to the sad event: — "You have no
doubt heard of the sudden call which poor Imrie has at last received, so
far as I can learn, unexpected to himself. It would have been very interest-
ing to have known, but I suppose we never can know, what was the state
of such a man's mind on the verge of the eternal world, and whether the
fortitude which supported him like a rock when he was most furiously
assailed by his fellow-creatures sustained or abandoned him at the last.
He was an uncommon man, no doubt, and now, I suppose, it will soon
appear that he too has gone into the land of deep forgetfulness." A rustic
epitaph in verse to his memory says : " He left his bleating flock with none
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 599
to lead." The next two Sabbaths seem to have been blank, and then the
Rev. Michael GilfiUan, Burgher minister of Dunblane, was asked to favour
them with a day's preaching. He consented, and in his reply he spoke of
Mr Imrie having been a particular acquaintance of his. Mr GilfiUan was
to be through among them by Friday afternoon, and it was by his advice,
we may believe, that they applied next Tuesday to the Burgher Presbytery
of Perth for sermon. From that time they had almost uninterrupted supply,
and on i8th June they were received as a congregation under the inspection
of the Presbytery, and though they were newly come from under Mr Imrie's
ministry it was not felt that they required to be cleansed from the taint of
heresy.
First Minister.— '^WAAk^x Pringle, from Tranent. As the call was
signed by only io6 communicants we infer that they adhered to the Anti-
burgher principle of none but male members voting at moderations or signing
calls. The stipend promised was ^loo, with house and garden, and £5 for
expenses. But Mr Pringle held back from delivering his trial discourses
till the people got impatient, and in a petition couched "in very unbecoming
and disrespectful language " they urged the Presbytery to have him brought
within the bounds for ordination. Being a young man of scholarly attam-
ments he may have been procrastinating in hopes of a better place, and
even when he did come forward he had only one of his discourses ready.
To bring matters to a point the Presbytery fixed the ordination day, leaving
the bulk of his trials to be gone through at an interim meeting, where a
quorum of members, they said, would suffice. Ordained, 17th September
1817, the Presbytery adjourning from the church to "the place of meetmg
in the fields," and there the services were conducted. Thus Auchterarder
had now a Burgher as well as a Relief church fully equipped. In those
days it was a place of busy activity, and between 1801 and 1831 the popula-
tion of the parish increased from 2000 to 3300.
In 1838 Mr Pringle reported his membership at 350. The stipend then,
and so late as 1845, was still at the original figure of ^100, but by-and-by
there was an increase made. For a course of years the congregation had
been struggling to get rid of their debt, much of which had been incurred
in building a new manse. A deputation from the Debt Liquidating Board
met with them in February 1842, and the people recorded with gratitude
that the chairman of the Board, Mr David Anderson of Glasgow, 'gave
them a handsome donation of ^10 to commence with." It was finally
arranged that they were to receive ^60 if they made up the other ^316.
On 7th March 1846 it was reported at a meeting of the congregation that
the condition, was fulfilled, and " the discharged bills having been produced
in confirmation of the above statement, the congregation expressed thanks-
giving to God for the happy result."
One incident in Mr Pringle's ministerial Hfe is not to be passed over
Assisting at Kinkell communion in November 1828 he preached on Saturday
from the text : " It is finished." Mr Forrester, the minister of the church
had a sermon prepared for Sabbath on " Behold the Lamb of God that
taketh away the sin of the world," and he was to make out that this meant
the sin of the elect world. They got into argument that evening on the
extent of the Atonement, the other assistant, Mr Ramsay of Crieff, coinciding
with Mr Forrester, till Mr Pringle, feeling, perhaps, that temper was getting
in " abruptly left the room, and went home." Next morning he was back
in' time to hear Mr Forrester's action sermon, and on Monday he returned
to his former subject, in which he spoke of a finished Atonement, and laid
down the principle, it was alleged, that if Christ did not die for all men
there was no foundation for the universal offer of the gospel. After a pause
6oo HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of eight months Mr Forrester tabled a paper before the Presbyteiy chal-
lenging Mr Pringle's soundrress in the faith. A libel followed, and four wit-
nesses were examined for the prosecution, the most important of the four
being the Rev. William Ramsay. Then other two, one of them from
Auchterarder church, were examined for the defence, and the evidence
was closed. It was testified on the one hand that Mr Pringle was under-
stood to have affirmed that Christ died not for the elect only but for all
men ; and, on the other hand, that his statements only amounted to this,
that there is sufficiency of merit in the Atonement to avail for all men. But
remembrances were hazy after the lapse of a twelvemonth. The satisfactory
course would have been to produce the manuscript, if there was a manu-
script to produce. The Synod, to which the case was referred, heard the
deposition of witnesses read, and found " that the libel was groundless,
it appearing evident that Mr Pringle had taught no doctrines inconsistent
with the standards of our Church." This case may be looked upon as the
earliest uprise of the Atonement Controversy in the Secession Church, for,
though Thomas Mair was deposed for alleged heresy on the subject of
Universal Redemption, his case proceeded on other lines.
But though Mr Pringle stood by Mr Walker of Comrie both in Presby-
tery and Synod, he afterwards assumed ground in connection with the extent
of the Atonement which did his congregation no good. In June 1853 he
brought up to Perth Presbytery an appeal from a refusal of his session to
grant him liberty to put some questions to one of his elders, who was
suspected of having embraced Morisonian opinions. The Presbyteiy sus-
tained the appeal, which means that they upheld a minister's right to put an
elder at any time to the test for heresy, even though the session should with
one voice say, No. To end the matter on the spot they agreed to ask the
accused whether he still adhered to the subordinate standards of the Church,
and, his answer not being deemed satisfactory, they handed him over to Mr
Marshall of Coupar-Angus and Dr Young of Perth to be further dealt with.
The report presented at next meeting was looked on as bringing the case to
a comfortable termination, but in a few weeks Mr Pringle asked the Presby-
tery for a provisional session, as the whole of his elders had resigned.
Three ministers sent out to Auchterarder prevailed on four of them to
resume their functions, but in the rear of this report Mr Pringle informed
the Presbytery that the agreement had been resiled from. The managers
had previously attempted a reconciliation ; but the object was not gained,
and in the end disjunction certificates were in large demand. In the follow-
ing year Auchterarder appears in the list of Evangelical Union churches
with a minister set over them. We have here the outcome of displacements
in Mr Pringle's session and congregation.
In i860 Mr Pringle received the degree of D.D. from Princeton, New
Jersey, an honour to which his translations of Calvin's Commentaries and
similar work fully entitled him. At the celebration of his jubilee, on 9th
October 1867, he was presented with 1000 guineas by friends throughout the
denomination, specially in acknowledgment of his long serv'ices as Convener
of the Scholarship Committee. He died, i6th February 1873, in the seventy-
seventh year of his age and fifty-sixth of his ministry. At the Union one of
his sons was minister of Crossford, and his brother, the Rev. John Pringle of
Elgin, was, like himself, distinguished for scholarly acquirements.
During this vacancy a faint attempt was made to effect a union with the
South Church— an object for which there was no urgent need. The com-
missioner from the North congregation pleaded that they had been self-
supporting till within the last three years ; that they were willing to make
exertions in order to be self-supporting again ; and that the losses they had
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 60 1
sustained in numbers and strength arose from causes which had exhausted
themselves. But it was a time when preachers had large choices, and a
succession of disappointments followed. In July 1873 they called Mr
J. P. Wood, who preferred Haddington (East), and in December Mr I. W.
„ , came a
pause of a twelvemonth, during which a peculiar case emerged to trouble
them. A person who had deserted Dr Pringle's ministry applied for
readmission, and old wounds were opened afresh. He professed himself
sorry for the part he had acted, and nothing remained, it might be thought,
but "to restore such an one in the spirit of meekness" ; but instead of this
pains were taken to ascertain the mind of the congregation, and it was found
that there were "some at the one extreme and some at the other." The
elders were opposed to his reception ; but at long and last two of the three
yielded, and the party, after being admonished, was received into fellowship
again. While this case was pending a call was brought out for the Rev.
J. M. Cruickshank, formerly of Westray ; but it was not harmonious, and a
committee of Presbytery reported "considerable bitterness of feeling."
Happily, an important field, in St Rollox, Glasgow, had already taken Mr
Cruickshank out of the way. In March 1875 they called Mr WiUiam
Steedman, who accepted Eaglesham, and in October Mr George K. Heughan,
who became colleague to Dr William Robertson of Irvine.
Second Alims/er.—TnoMA'^. S. Dickson, M.A., from Buccleuch Street,
Dumfries. Ordained, i8th April 1876. The stipend, including ^20 of
supplement, was to be ^157, los., with the manse. This call was signed by
not fewer than 160 out of a membership of 175. In the following year a
new manse was built at a cost of ;^iioo, ^250 being received from the
central fund. On 21st January 1880 Mr Dickson accepted a call to Bell
Street, Dundee, but the people were better able now to face discouragement.
They had raised their part of the stipend ^12, los. the year before, and the
membership had increased to 216.
Third Mims/er.—'W iLhlAU S. MuiL, from Moss Street, Elgin. Or-
dained, 25th May 1881, having previously declined a call to Rosehearty.
In 1888 the congregation removed to another place of worship. The church
built for the Evangelical Unionists had passed into private hands, and the
proprietor, who had expended a big sum of money in fitting it up as a hall
for semi-religious purposes, was now willing to part with it on very reason-
able terms. The old place of worship, erected in 1813, recjuired to be super-
seded in some way, and here was a fitting opportunity. The modern
building, with all its equipments, was secured at the moderate figure of ^950,
and taken possession of in February 1889. It is seated for some 400, and
has extensive sideroom accommodation. The liabilities were met by sub-
scriptions and a small sum received for the old church. In 1893 the funds
of the congregation availed to pay other ^10 of stipend. The membership
in December 1899 was 235.
DALREOCH (Antiburgher)
An accession was given in to the Associate Presbytery from a Praying
Society in Dunning on 18th July 1738, and this was followed by another
from Dalreoch on 17th October. Further accessions came in from Forgan-
denny and Forteviot ; but the only Sabbath supply granted to that district
for the time was a day of Mr David Smyton on ist May 1740. By-and-by
Kinkell became the gathering-point for Strathearn, and continued so for
nearly forty years ; only by the formation of a church at Pathstruie in 1755
6o2
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
relief was given to those at the south-east extremity. But with a distance
of five or six intervening miles severance was bound to come, and in 1779 the
Synod was called to pronounce on an attempt to have a congregation
formed at Dalreoch. The Presbytery had refused to disjoin, being always
afraid of injuring existing interests, and the Synod upheld their decision,
assigning as the reason that the formation proposed would greatly weaken
the congregations of Kinkell and Pathstruie. Dalreoch they also spoke of
as distant only four miles from Kinkell and three from Pathstruie ; but to
make these measurements correct we would need to reckon by long Scots
miles.
Towards the close of Mr Muckersie's ministry Kinkell session received
a petition from 126 of their members asking their concurrence in an applica-
tion to the Presbytery of Perth for sermon at Dalreoch. This being refused,
the case came by protest before the Presbytery on 31st August 1789.
Equity requiring that the neighbouring sessions be consulted Mr Wilson
of Methven intimated that, although a considerable number of their con-
gregation would naturally fall off to Dalreoch, his session would offer no
opposition to the formation of a church there. In December Mr Muckersie's
death was reported, an event which altered the Kinkell bearings ; but, on
the other hand, the master difficulty now came to the front. Pathstruie
session reported that, if the disjunction were granted, it would render their
congregation " incapable of supporting the gospel," and the Presbytery
agreed to refer the whole cause to the General Synod. They suggested that
Pathstruie congregation should remove to Dunning and coalesce with the
petitioners from Kinkell, but the way was blocked by the majority declin-
ing to entertain such a proposal. The Presbytery now sought for a site
north of the Earn, and at a safer distance from Pathstruie, but without
success, and then on 3rd August 1790 it was carried by the Moderator's
casting-vote to grant sermon to the people in and about Dalreoch. The
case was protested, and a final decision was not arrived at till May 1791,
when the General Synod erected the 112 petitioners from Kinkell into a
distinct congregation. The first public services were conducted by Mr
Gilfillan of Comrie on Wednesday, 8th June, which was observed as a
Fast day, or rather as a day of thanksgiving. It was also agreed that the
place of worship should be built at " The Broom " of Dalreoch.
The congregation consisted as yet of none but the 112 who had been
disjoined from Kinkell, including two elders, who were formed into a
session, and a third was to be admitted as soon as he obtained a formal
disjunction. On 3rd July 29 members who had been disjoined from
Methven were received at Dalreoch, and thus a fourth elder was obtained.
Then came other 26 from Kinkell, "residing in the adjacent bounds, but
not formerly annexed with the first number." Last of all came the con-
tingent from Pathstruie — 15 men and 25 women — residents in and about
Dunning, including an elder, who likewise took his seat in the session.
These three groups added to the original 112 would give a communion roll
of at least 200. In April 1794 a call from Dalreoch to Mr John Thomson
came before the Synod, with 96 signatures, but he was appointed to Duns.
First Minister. — James Clark, from Ray, in Donegal, Ireland ; but
his father was not minister there, as has been stated, nor a minister at all.
The son, when a divinity student, taught a school at Craigend ; but owing to-
a dangerous disorder in one of his knees, which unfitted him for travelling,
even on horseback, he received ^10 from the Synod and from Craigend
congregation to defray the expenses of his journey home. In April 1795
Mr Clark was admonished by the Synod for refusing to be settled at
Peterhead and the call he had received from Dalreoch was set aside.
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 603
Another followed, and he was ordained there, 17th September 1795. He
died, 14th February 1 821, in the sixty-first year of his age and twenty-sixth
of his ministry. On the preceding Sabbath, when he commenced the
morning prayer, " his voice in a few minutes became weaker and weaker.
He reclined on the side of the pulpit until some of his people came to his
assistance, and kept him from falling. They wished to convey him immedi-
ately to the manse, but he softly whispered that they might delay for a
little, seeming to think that he might so far recover as to go on with the
work of the day." But his work was done, and he died on the following
Wednesday. Mr Clark's daughter, and only surviving child, was married
to her cousin, the Rev. Robert Clark, Ireland, a few months before, an event
which, no doubt, cleared the way for what was to follow at Dalreoch.
The minutes of session in Mr Clark's time are disfigured by fewer
blemishes than were common in those days, and they show that minister
and elders sought faithfully to keep up the standard of religious character.
Two cases are given in which members were dealt with for neglect of
family worship, and dismissed with suitable exhortations. Another acknow-
ledged that he had been chargeable with drunkenness and late hours.
Having promised amendment he was admonished by the moderator ; but
he relapsed, and had to appear before them again. About the time of
Mr Clark's death the congregation suffered through the loss of 50 or 60
of their number who refused to acquiesce in the Union of 1820. They
received sermon from the Protestors in 1821 ; built a church at Dunning
in 1825 ; had a minister set over them in 1841 ; were left vacant again in
1843, and were dissolved in 1852. They used to be known as " Blackites,"
from the Rev. Richard Black of Perth, whose congregation some of them
joined after their own had ceased to exist. But for that rupture Dalreoch
mrght have been going on to this day.
Second Minister. — Robert Clark, from Ray, in Ireland, where his
maternal grandfather was the first Secession minister. Ordained at Newton-
Hamilton on 22nd December 1818. Perth Presbytery, when Dalreoch fell
vacant, made some inquiries about arrears of stipend, but they were in-
formed that it was probable the matter would be settled quietly and
amicably. The idea was to have Mr Clark's daughter brought back to the
home of her youth, and to have his nephew and son-in-law installed as his
successor. The call was signed by only 44 (male) memVjers, and the stipend
was to be ^85, with house, garden, and expenses. Mr Clark being a
minister of the Secession Church of Ireland the case was referred to the
Synod, and by their directions the call was to be prosecuted in the usual
way, a deed from which five ministers dissented. As Mr Clark was in
receipt of the regium donum some may have thought that he ought not
to have been eligible for a United Secession vacancy. He was inducted
at Dalreoch, 25th September 1822. During the twenty-six years of
Mr Clark's ministry the membership must have been under a constant
tendency to decline. The congregation drew largely from Dunning, where
there was a Burgher church which the Union of 1820 had brought into
fellowship with themselves, and at the same time the population in other
districts was declining. Mr Clark's life came to a sadder and more
sudden close than that of his predecessor. From the brief Memoir written
by the Rev. William Ramsay of Crieff we learn that on the evening-
of 4th October 1848 he was out visiting among his people. "His family
and some of their near neighbours were alarmed by his horse, a spirited
animal, coming home at full speed without his rider." Search being made,
he was found lying quite dead on the public road, about half-a-mile from
the manse. He was m the fifty-fourth year of his age and thirtieth of his
6o4 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ministry. This distressing event, say the session minutes, " produced a
very deep sensation among his friends and others in this neighbourhood ;
by his congregation he was much respected."
There was no incHnation at this time to have ordinances discontinued
at Ualreoch. The debt of ;^2i3 which rested on the property was cleared
off in 1840, the people having raised ^133, to meet ^80 from the Board.
The membership was little above 100 now, and the stipend was ^65, with
manse and garden ; but supplement was certain, and there were preachers
for whom Dalreoch, with its quiet surroundings, might have attractions. In
July 1849 they called Mr George Morris, now of Dairy, Ayrshire, and in
December 1850 Mr Alexander M'Lean, afterwards of Kirriemuir, but in
both cases preferable openings came.
Third Mi7tister. — Matthew^ Orr, from Greyfriars, Glasgow. Ordained,
30th December 1851. But the process of diminution went on, as it was
bound to do. Times were changfed since twice at an election of elders it
was arranged that two should be from Dunning quarter, the one for the
east and the other for the west division. Still, though the decrease
averaged scarcely more than a single unit each year, the return for 1869
gave only 79 members. On the first Sabbath of September 1870 Mr Orr
preached as usual. Next Wednesday, on retiring to rest, he was struck
with paralysis, and died on the 25th of that month, in the fifty-third year
of his age and nineteenth of his ministry. The session records contain
a testimony "to his faithful labours in preaching the Word of Life, in sym-
pathising with and comforting the dying, and in otherwise discharging the
duties of the ministerial office."
At a "meeting of the congregation held in November to consider what
was to be done in their present circumstances Mr Andrew Robertson, the
session clerk, resigned office, with the fixed intention, of withdrawing alto-
gether. He resided in Dunning, and, having been an elder in Dalreoch for
forty-five years, even the distance of two miles at his age may have been too
much for him. The present being the best time to make the transition he
and his family were disjoined, and, after a brief interval, his name appears
on the Synod roll as the representative elder from Dunning. Other re-
movals followed, and in June 1871 it was decided "that the regular dis-
pensation of ordinances be discontinued." On 27th May 1872 the
congregation met to wind up their secular affairs. They formed a little
company — fully one-half of those who were members when Mr Orr died
having already received disjunction lines. At the close a paper of special
interest was read, giving the leading facts in the history of the congregation,
and, among others, that twenty-three elders had held ofifice in the course
of these eighty years. With shaded faces we can suppose them parting
with each other at the door of the church, within which they were to meet
no more.
The sale of the property realised ^137, and with its allocation the
Presbytery expressed their entire satisfaction. The weak congregations of
Kinkell, Pathstruie, and Greenloaning received each ^10 ; £,^^ went to
the Augmentation and other Funds of the Church ; ^20 to the poorer
members of the congregation ; and the remaining ^10 was reserved to
meet any obligations that might be incurred in the winding-up. Of the
members, 11 joined Kinkell, 4 or 5 went to Methven, and 17 to Dunning,
but a number must have been lost to the denomination.
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 605
GREENEND (Relief)
This congregation had its centre at Aberargie, a small village in the western
extremity of Abernethy parish. In Februar)' 1835 Mr Patrick J. M'Farlane»
the son of a well-known physician in Perth, and himself both M.A. and
M.D., was presented to the parish of Dron. On the moderation day the
call was signed by 14 persons, including the principal farmers and all the
heritors ; but, when dissents were asked for, the Presbytery found that they
had no roll of heads of families to go by. Worse still, there had been no
kirk-session for twenty-eight years, and it was only the kirk-session that the
•Veto Act empowered to make up the roll. To get over the difficulty the
Presbytery prepared a list of 65 communicants, but the question arose : Is
it allowable to receive objections on this basis ? and the case was referred
to the Assembly, where a motion by Lord Moncrieflf earned, that, as no
dissents were offered on the moderation day, the settlement be proceeded
with. At next meeting of Presbytery a paper, purporting to be from 146
parishioners, was given in objecting to the presentee, and it was reckoned
the safe course to delay the whole matter till next Assembly. There the
former decision was confirmed, and Mr M'Farlane was ordained, nth
August 1836; but "he suffered from severe bodily affliction during the
greater part of his short incumbency, and the duties of the parish were
performed by assistants." He died on 28th January 1844, in the eighth
year of his ministry.
Twelve days after Mr M'Farlane's ordination Mr Cross of Dundee re-
presented to Perth Presbytery that Mr Gorrie of Ketde and Mr Somerville,
under call to Auchtergaven, had preached at Dron to a very large audience
on the preceding Sabbath. Regular supply followed, and it was reported
to the Synod in May 1837 that building operations were in progress, though
stones and timber had been refused. On 24th August, at the close of Fast
services, "the people attending Dron station were received into Church con-
nection with the Relief" Next Sabbath the communion was dispensed by
Messrs Frew of Perth and Gorrie of Kettle in presence, it was calculated,
of about 1500 people. It was as if the Presbytery had been right in telling
the Synod that a numerous and flourishing congregation was confidently
expected. In the end of 1838 a moderation was applied for, and, though
the people could offer no fixed stipend, they were to make ever)' exertion
to render their minister comfortable.
v^/rj/" iT//>/z>/^r.— Alexander W.\tson, from Kilmarnock (King Street).
Ordained, 30th January 1839, and on the following Sabbath he was intro-
duced by the Rev. Alexander Harvey of Glasgow. "The church was
crowded to excess, both during the day and in the evening, and numbers
were compelled to stand without at the door and windows." The number
of members at this time was 44, and the average attendance between 80
and 100. The place of worship was as yet without pews, and the people
were unable to provide the necessary funds. But at this juncture College
Street Church, Edinburgh, stepped in, and undertook to seat the church.
They also furnished other articles "necessary for the dispensation of
religious ordinances," which may be understood to mean a baptismal and
communion service. The church was formally opened on 17th March
1839, the minister himself preaching during the day, and Dr John Taylor
being brought over from Auchtermuchty for the evening. But now ad-
versity set in, and there was no stamina to overcome difficulties. The
legal expenses incurred years before in opposing the presentee had not
been paid, and they were found to be " so appalling that the hearts of the
peasantry began to quail." When the leaders at Greenend were in a state
6o6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of alarm they got the assurance that, if they returned to their own parish
church, they would hear nothing more about legal claims. So by-and-by
the Perth Constitutionalist was able to tell the public that the only in-
dividuals from Dron connected with the new erection were 2 women and
a young lad — nor was this contradicted. The report of the Home Board
to the Synod was not so sanguine now, but it was still hoped the con-
gregation would prosper, having a pastorate of their own choice. Whatever
Mr Watson's gifts may have been he had scarcely a chance at Greenend,
and on 27th April 1842 he accepted a call to the forming congregation of
Newburgh.
Second Minister. — James Stewart, from Bridgeton, Glasgow. Or-
dained, 19th October 1842. Before coming to this all parties had reason
to pause and consider. But Greenend had been well subsidised hitherto,
and so they went in for another minister without hesitation, and though
they could promise him no particular sum they would allow him "a free
Sabbath occasionally that he might preach elsewhere in order to increase
his stipend." On i8th July 1843 Mr Stewart complained to the Presbytery
that the people had failed to give him a suitable maintenance, and had also
advertised the property for sale. At next meeting, on the 25th, the Presby-
tery found that the latter danger was averted, but, as Mr Stewart felt it
his duty to resign, the connection was dissolved. After being a year on the
preachers' list he received a certificate of ministerial status, as he was
going to America, and at this point he is finally lost sight of
Greenend people were still in the mood for continuing, and the Home
Board agreed to grant them assistance for two months by way of experiment.
In February 1844 they expressed the wish to have a pastor ; but they could
not promise him more than ^30, and they looked for aid from headquarters.
In May the Synod intimated that if the people would contribute ^30,
exclusive of board for the preachers, they would be allowed ^^20, but if this
condition were not complied with the name should be dropped from the list
of aid-receiving stations. In 1845 it was reported that Dron had only had
occasional sermon since last meeting, and that the congregation was small,
and also without energy. They had, however, got ^25 for the liquidation
of debt, leaving only other ^6 or thereby, and the property would be made
over to the Synod on payment of this sum. But the breaking up, as if
with axes and hammers, was already begun, the Presbytery having received
notice that certain persons styling themselves managers had sold the
congregational library, and had "removed the pulpit and desk, Bible and
Psalm-books, and the baptismal and sacramental utensils from the con-
gregational custodier." It was found on inquiry that 49 or 50 individuals
claimed membership in the church, so far as civil rights were concerned.
The little building stood long unoccupied at Aberargie, but it has since
been cleared away. The last notice was in 1867, when the U.P. Presbytery
of Perth " agreed to resign the Church's right to the property, on condition
of the proprietor freeing the Presbytery of all liabilities attaching thereto."
KINKELL AND THE WESTERN DIVISION
KINKELL (Antiburgher)
The workings of patronage in Madderty, a parish six or seven miles west
of Dunning, probably determined the seat of this congregation. Mr George
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 607
Blaikie had been presented to the vacant charge, but his settlement was
stoutly resisted by the people, and both Presbytery and Synod refused to
induct. The Commission in May 1739 agreed to approach Lord Dupplin, the
patron, entreating him to waive his claims, but he refused, " as he would thereby
weaken, through his example, the rights of Patronage." The Commission
felt in a dilemma, knowing that, if they settled the presentee, the parish of
Madderty " was in danger of being foundered in faith by the Seceders." It
carried to go forward, but it was reported at a subsequent meeting that
Mr Blaikie was about to proceed as an ordained minister to America. This,
however, did not prevent an accession from Madderty to the Associate
Presbytery a few months after, and another from Trinity-Cask. In October
1740 it was intimated that "the corresponding societies in these bounds are
now united into one congregation." The church is believed to have been
built in 1743, and in the early part of 1744 the name of the congregation
changes from Strathearn to Kinkell.
First Minister.— ]o^^ MuCKERSlE, from the congregation of Abernethy
and the Correspondence of Strathmiglo. Ordained, 3rd June 1747, the
service, as he states in one of his pamphlets, being attended by several
thousands. At the Breach, eight weeks before, Mr Muckersie took the Anti-
burgher side, and he has somewhere told that, having been previously called
to Kirkcaldy, " he resisted, because he knew many of them were opposed to
his views of the Burgess Oath." His interest in that question drew him on
twenty years later to mingle in the war of pamphlets, but the merits of his
pen appear to more advantage in what was long known among Seceders
as " The Mother's Catechism."
Before Mr Muckersie had been a year in Kinkell an attempt was made
to have him removed to London ; but the minister who presided at the
moderation had gone forward without due authority, and the call, with its
40 signatures, was not sustained. Strathearn was to be his field of labour to
the end, and during his time the congregation continued large. He spoke
in 1767 of having under his care upwards of 1000 examinable persons. The
aspect of the crowded church in those days has been graphically described ;
the men in their homespun clothes, and their bonnets on till the minister
appeared, and when these were doffed they made the bookboards look like
blue fungi tipped with red. In 1787, when Mr Muckersie had passed
beyond threescore, there was a movement to provide him with a colleague.
His son James was now a licentiate, and the Presbytery of Perth at the
congregation's request applied to Stirling Presbytery to allow him to preach
two Sabbaths at Kinkell, but instead of granting this request they granted
a moderation to Alloa, which resulted in a call to Mr James Muckersie,
and his ordination followed.
Frequent supply was needed now "on account of Mr Muckersie's con-
tinued frailty," and towards the close of 1788 they called Mr James Pringle,
but there. was opposition on the part of 11 members, and the Presbytery
appointed him to Kinclaven, a decision which the Synod confirmed. We
read now of "confusions" in the congregation, and the Presbytery was
asked by Mr Muckersie to interpose. They met at Kinkell, and a paper
was given in expressing dissatisfaction with some parts of their minister's
conduct in connection with the recent call. Mr Muckersie ultimately
acknowledged, in presence of the congregation, that he had acted imprudently
in some instances, and they on their part admitted that they had not mani-
fested due mildness of spirit towards their minister. It was then agreed to
forgive, forget, and live in harmony with each other. It ended in a way that
was honourable to all parties, but had the Presbytery set themselves to
vindicate their aged brother all through, the issue might have been different.
6o8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Mr Muckersie died on the morning of Sabbath, 22nd November 1789, when
preparing for church. He was in the seventy-fourth year of his age and forty-
third of his ministry.
Mr Muckersie's widow was a daughter of the Rev. WilHam Wilson of
Perth. She died, 19th August 1798, at Cultmalundie, near Methven, the
residence of one of her sons, the father of Nicolis Muckersie, the wife of
the Rev. William Jameson of Jamaica and Calabar. Mr Muckersie's son
James, as already stated, was minister of Alloa, and one of his daughters
was Dr Terrier's (of Paisley) first wife. An older son of Kinkell manse parted
company with the Secession before commencing his theological course, and,
on the day that his father was asking the Antiburgher Presbytery of Perth
to compose differences at Kinkell, John Muckersie, junior, received licence
from the Established Presbytery of Auchterarder. In due time he became
parish minister of West Calder.
Second Minister. — Robert Imrie, from the North Church, Perth. Or-
dained, nth April 1792. The congregation was much narrowed in now,
having suffered a serious encroachment recently by the formation of a church
at Dalreoch. Still, Mr Imrie's call was signed by 156 (male) members, and
the Presbytery considered that the stipend, even with the large glebe, ought
not to be under £lbo. Of Mr Imrie it has been said that so long as he
contented himself with simply preaching the gospel and attending to his
pastoral duties, he had around him an attached congregation. But this was
not to continue, and his pulpit utterances gave trouble to Presbytery and
Synod for ten or twelve years. Perhaps the most offensive specimen of his
pulpit work is found in a paper of charges tabled against him by one of his
hearers. In the blood of Christ, considered materially, he said, there is
nothing more than in the blood of an animal, and here he actually digressed
into a disquisition on the quality of blood — that this depended upon diet, and
so on. It was not heresy this, it was the debasement of the pulpit through
want of common-sense. The triumphant winding-up was that the actual
blood shed on the cross had no more value for atoning purposes than a wave
of his glove. But Mr Imrie behoved to say something that would startle,
and what he gained was not fame but notoriety.
To trace Mr Imrie's case all through would occupy time to little purpose.
A beginning was made before Perth Presbytery by one member bringing
up 13 charges against his minister, and another adducing 29 scruples.
In most of these the scent would not hold, and in others there was nothing
to complain of. When, for example, it was alleged against Mr Imrie that
he said there was nothing more in the wooden cross on which the Saviour
died than there was in the crosses of the malefactors one wonders what
there was in this to make any Protestant stumble. But it also came out that
time-honoured customs had fared ill at his hands ; no warrant in Scripture
for debarrances before the communion ; no warrant for the consecration
prayer ; no warrant for asking a blessing even on ordinary food, as " Meat
is equally nutritious in the stomach of a dog and in the stomach of a saint,
naturally considered." Through profundities like these the Presbytery of
Perth, the Provincial Synod, and the General Synod had to work their way
year after year. It accords with what one of his people alleged at an earlier
stage : " The greater part of Mr Imrie's discourses are conducted in a style
of obscure and tedious reasoning rather than in clear scripture deductions."
The Synod tried admonition first, and then rebuke, but these appliances,
though unresistingly submitted to, went for nothing. The affair slumbered
from June 1802 till September 1806, when it comes up again in the Minutes
of Synod. He was not now occupying the attention of his people with
questions as to whether there is Bible warrant for a minister engaging in
ii
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 609
regular family visitation. In April 1807 it was found that Mr Imrie had
been putting the federal system of theology to rights. No covenant between
the Father and the Son, such a conception being inconsistent with the unity
of Godhead ; neither could he admit that there was merit in the Saviour's
death, because as Mediator He was the Father's servant, and had nothing
to give but what He received. Suspension from office carried over deposi-
tion, and further dealings with him were deferred. At four successive meet-
ings the case occupied long sederunts ; but in April 18 10 the business
resolved itself into the question. Restore or Not Restore ? and, the roll being
called, the former carried by a majority of 7. There was now, on the one
hand, a protest given in by nineteen ministers and four elders ; and, on the
other hand, fhe Rev. Thomas Stark of Forres was reprimanded from the
Chair " for offensive and disorderly conduct in clapping his hands at the
conclusion of the vote." Two years before this, Mr Imrie dictated to
the Synod Clerk an acknowledgment to the effect that he was unfeignedly
sorry at the offence he had given, and that he was resolved to avoid such
things in future. But no sooner was he back to his pulpit than his regrets
and resolves were alike forgotten.
At the Synod in April 181 1 it was known that Perth Presbytery were deep
in a new process against Mr Imrie, and it was deemed necessary to reverse
the above decision, and close his mouth once more. For other two years the
suspension lasted. Mr Imrie had been striking out now against the expres-
sion. Three persons in the Godhead : "Those who say three diX^ right, if they
mean three modes of subsistence, and those who say one are right, if they
mean one agent or will." But patience was exhausted now, and the issue
foreseen by all parties. Dr Heugh wrote to a brother minister when the
<;lose was near : " I think with you that all is over with him, but I confess
that I have scarcely any other than melancholy reflections upon the whole
occasion." The motion to depose was carried by 40 to 11, silent 14. Sen-
tence was pronounced late on Friday, ist May 181 2, or perhaps at an early
hour on Saturday, for both dates are given. A newspaper notice bears that on
Sabbath, the loth, Mr Imrie occupied his own pulpit, and preached to a very
crowded meeting from the text : " But this I confess unto thee, that after the
way which they call heresy, so worship I the God of my fathers." A tent
had been erected for the Synod's deputy near at hand, and at the close of
the afternoon service he declared the church vacant. But though the great
majority of the congregation adhered to their minister he and they had to
forego all right to the property and remove to Auchterarder, where the
narrative will be resumed.
Third Minister.— ]OYm Craig, from Duke Street, Glasgow, whom the
Synod appointed to Kinkell in preference to Tillicoultry. The congregation
had called Mr James Blyth, afterwards of Urr, two or three years before ;
but Mr Blyth was ill to satisfy, and we assume that the call had been firmly
refused and allowed to drop. Mr Craig was ordained, 19th November 1817 ;
but that he or any other man would bring back prosperity to the deserted
building was beyond being hoped for. In the beginning of 182 1 the people
complained to the Presbvtery that they found themselves unable to make
up the stipend, and on 13th March Mr Craig tabled his resignation, which
the Presbytery accepted on the spot. In 1823 Mr Craig was inducted mto
City Road, Brechin, where we have met him already. After three years the
congregation called Mr Charles Muirhead, but Coupar-Angus was preferred,
without a vote, by the Presbytery. They soon afterwards made choice of
Mr James B. Miller, from Anderston, Glasgow. The stipend was to be ^^70,
with manse, garden, and sacramental expenses— a big offer for a congrega-
tion represented by only 38 male members. Having been set aside owing
II. 2 Q
6io HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
to informalities, this call was followed up by another, but it was ultimately-
declined. Mr Miller was never ordained, and the following notice in a
Glasgow newspaper gives the end : — " Died suddenly on the morning of
Tuesday, i6th February 1830, at his uncle's house in Anderston, James B.
Miller, preacher of the Secession." He was in the thirty-seventh year of his
age. A volume of his sermons was published, with Memoir by his minister,
the Rev. Dr Mitchell.
Fourth Minister. — James Forrester, from Alyth. Ordained, .5th
September 1826, when he was slightly beyond middle life. The New
Statistical History states in 1836 that the utmost the congregation could
give Mr Forrester was ^5 a year to defray sacramental expenses, in
addition to paying the rent of a farm on which he resided, which seems to
have been ^32. The chapel, it adds, " is seated for 800, and might contain
1000, and in former days it was crowded every Sabbath, people coming
from distances of twelve or sixteen miles." There were 80 members now,
and an attendance of about 100. A supplement of ^15 or ^20 was obtained
soon afterwards. Mr Forrester came up to the Synod in 1852, but took
suddenly ill while in Edinburgh. At the last sederunt, towards midnight on
Friday, 7th May, a sum of ^15 was voted to him, and it was mentioned
that to all appearance he was on the brink of the eternal world. He died
on Sabbath, the 9th, in the sixty-eighth year of his age and twenty-sixth
of his ministry. His remains were removed to Kinkell, and on Thursday he
was buried in the churchyard of Trinity-Gask.
Kinkell had now to struggle for thirteen years against attempts to have
it extinguished, and during the great part of that time they had sermon only
on alternate Sabbaths. The case was battled over in Presbytery and Synod,
Mr Marshall of Coupar-Angus figuring as the champion of the endangered
cause. Though the membership was only 60, and the attendance from 50
to 80, it was pleaded that a large proportion of the families were five or six
miles from any other church of the denomination. They were prepared,
moreover, to offer ^50 a year and a free house, and they urged that if the
congregation were dissolved the church and manse would fall into private
hands. Towards the close of 1861 they called Mr John Paterson, after-
wards of Whitehill ; and then in 1862 they called Mr James Patrick, now
minister-emeritus of Patna, but both calls were declined.
Fifth Minister. — Andrew Elder, from Eaglesham. Ordained, ist
July 1863, and accepted a call to George Street, Paisley, 15th January 1867.
There was no thought now of sermon being discontinued, and in a few
months a call was issued to Mr Thomas Kirk ; but he declined, and was
ordained at Brechin (Maisondieu Lane) ia the following year.
Sixth Minister. — GEORGE DUTHIE, from Glasgow (Wellington Street).
Ordained, 19th January 1869. By the closing of Dalreoch Church in 1872
Kinkell gained 1 1 members, and the people added ^20 to their part of the
stipend. For a few years at this time there was a regular rise in the com-
munion roll, till it came up in 1875 to 89. Here, however, owing to the
decrease of population, retrogression began anew, till the number came
down to 60 or slightly under. In December 1899 the membership was 70,
and the entire stipend ;^I78, with a manse, £jo of this sum being contributed
by the people.
COM R IE (Antiburgher)
In the Minutes of the Associate Presbytery there is mention of an accession
from two persons in Comrie parish on 14th March 1739, one of whom was
probably James Drummond, the father of Dr M'Gregor, the apostle of Nova
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 6ii
Scotia. When sojourning in the neighbourhood of Sliding, a young man,
he had been attracted to Ebenezer Erskine's ministry. Accessions had
previously come in from the parishes of Muthil and Monzie, and in the end
of April Fast day services were conducted at Comrie by Messrs Moncrieff
and Nairn. In October they applied for an eldership, an indication that
their numbers were considerable, and on the last Sabbath of April 1740 they
had regular services for the first time, the preacher being Mr David Smyton,
afterwards of Kilmaurs. At a meeting of Presbytery in the following
August Mr Mair of Orwell read the names of some people in and about
Comrie who had declared their accession before him at a meeting of the
societies there. Comrie now disappears from the records for years, being
merged in Kinkell, which had become the meeting-place for the Seceders in
the west of Perthshire. As the distance was between twelve and fourteen
miles meetings for prayer and Christian conference must often have supplied
the want of public worship on the Lord's day.
The next we hear of Comrie is in 1752, when it appears as an Anti-
burgher vacancy with a session of at least three members. In September
of that year Comrie and Logiealmond applied for moderations with the view
of calling Mr Hector Chisholm, a preacher who had Gaehc, and the Presby-
tery resolved to treat them as one congregation, though they were fourteen
miles apart, the minister to preach at Comrie every fourth Sabbath. But
when the moderation day came the people there refused to take part in the call
on such conditions. Having obtained a lease of ground for two thousand
years they were now engaged in the building of their first church, and
on 5th January 1753 they petitioned Kinclaven session for a collection
"to defray the charges of a house they have erected for public worship."
During that year they had sermon appointed for only fifteen Sabbaths, Mr
Chisholm, now of Logiealmond, being in special request. His last appear-
ance in their pulpit was on the first Sabbath of March 1754, and they never
asked him back, as his behaviour on that occasion, under the influence of
drink, had been worthy of a madman. One witness put it as follows : — " She
saw him in the time of singing, at the evening exercise on the Lord's night,
strike a child with his whip out of the pulpit ; that the child belonged to
one Hugh Clark at Comrie, and she supposed it to be about two years of
age.'' A weeping scene ensued, and this was the beginning of the deplorable
Logiealmond Case. Worst of all, the disgrace brought on the Cultibracken
family, who had joined the Secession, was fitted to harm the struggling
cause at Comrie far more than though their newly-built church had been
swallowed up by an earthquake. But the evolvings belong to the history of
Logiealmond congregation.
First Minister. — JOHN Ferguson, a licentiate of Perth and Dunferm-
line Presbytery. Ordained, 4th March 1760, over the united congregation
of Comrie and Strathallan, his labours to be equally divided between the *
two places, which are thirteen miles apart from each other, but as both the
moderation and the ordination were at Comrie we may look on it as the
more important partner. The call was signed by 80 (male) members and
adhered to by 51 not in full communion. The ordination sermon, preached
by Mr Muckersie of Kinkell, was published, and in the Appendix he tells them :
" God let your eyes see this teacher for the space of four months and some
days," from which it appears that Mr Ferguson died about the second week
of July, having taken fever when assisting at Muckart communion. Mr
Muckersie also says that he seemed " particularly suitable to your congrega-
tion (being) of a robust and strong constitution."
Better prospects now opened up for Comrie, and on 3rd February 1762
the people applied to Stirhng Presbytery to be disjoined from Strathallan,
6i2 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
their design being to combine with Crieff, where, owing to the character of
the parish minister, a goodly number had acceded to the Secession. In
September the Synod agreed to the joint formation, and it was ultimately
arranged that the minister should reside in Crieff, and preach at Comrie
every third Sabbath. Under the pastoral care of the Rev. James Barlas,
who was ordained in 1767, affairs moved on for eight years ; but in 1775
Crieff wished a larger share of the minister's labours, and a great many in
Comrie division, including several Established Church people, complained
of having sermon so seldom, and never in the " Irish" tongue. Constant
supply in both places was suggested, and this proposal being referred to
the Synod they sent .Mr William Laing into the bounds — a preacher who
had the Gaelic language — mainly with a view to Comrie. Next year Crieff
people decided that they must have supply every Sabbath, and let Comrie
brethren either come in to Crieff or maintain the gospel in a separate way.
In April 1776 the Presbytery met on the spot, and pronounced against dis-
junction ; but Mr Barlas was henceforth to preach at Comrie only six
Sabbaths in the year, and the Lord's Supper was to be dispensed invariably
at Crieff. On nth March 1778 the petition of Comrie to be disjoined was
granted, and the arrangement for the two places having a minister between
them came to an end.
At Comrie every effort was now made to obtain a moderation, but the
Presbytery had no evidence of ripeness for a step so important. The wish
might be to secure Mr Laing,* as they were satisfied that if services were .
conducted part of the day in the Irish tongue it would tend greatly to pro-
mote both the knowledge of the gospel and the cause of the Secession.
Other ten years intervened before they emerged from the vacant state ; but
in the early part of 1789 they called Mr David Black, whom the Provincial
Synod of Perth appointed to Dunfermline (Chalmers Street).
Second Mim'ster.— Samuel Gilfillan, from Buchlyvie. While on
trials for ordination at Comrie Mr Gilfillan was called to Barry, now Car-
noustie, and then to Auchtergaven, and the issues were left to the con-
tingencies of Synodical procedure. Between the three there was little to
draw in point of numbers, Comrie showing 32 (male members), Barry 29,
and Auchtergaven 37 ; but Comrie was preferred, the reason being : "It is
of long standing in the Secession, and is meantime in great need of the
gospel." This was in April 1790, but when the Presbytery met in June Mr
Gilfillan was not present, and in August he was not prepared to accept.
Being allowed time for consideration he looked carefully at the matter on
both sides, taking into account the unanimity of the Synod and the harmony
of the people. He also ran over the points in their history: "Short time
settled at first ; only joined to Crieff about ten years ; hope deferred which
maketh the heart sick ; steadfast amid all their trials ; continuing about the
same number since the beginning." So Mr Gilfillan yielded, and was or-
dained, I2th April 1791. The membership was 65, and the stipend ^50 a
year. About this time the old place of worship was superseded, and an
application to Alyth session in December 1794 for a collection bore that
they had lately built both a church and a manse. Interest attaches to the
now dilapidated pile, the manse crumbling away, and the church partially
converted into a stable.
Though seated for 500 there was the prospect that this accommodation
* William Laing finished his theological course in 1772. After obtaining licence
he was sent north along with Mr Alexander Howison to supply at Howford, but
neither of them had Gaelic sufficient to keep them going. Then he was located within
Perth Presbytery, chiefly for the sake of Comrie. He was ordained at Newry, in
Ireland, 25th October 1880, and died, 22nd July 1806.
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 613
might be required, as the membership was doubled within three years. But
the want of GaeHc on Mr Gilfillan's part must have narrowed in his possession
of the ground — at least if, as his son George has stated, two-thirds of the
parishioners did not understand English. In 1792 the bonds between Crieff
and Comrie were renewed in an altered form by Mr Gilfillan's marriage with
the eldest daughter of Mr Barlas. In 1803 the stipend was only £55. A
balance sheet, which found its way into print a dozen years ago, presents,
over against this slender income, the year's expenditure in its several items,
illustrating the frugality which presided over the household arrangements.
The only outlay we incline to quarrel with is that for " Beer, Spirits, and
Wine," which came close upon ^5 ; but such was the order of things in
those days. The eye rests with surprise on such entries as " Fee of Servant,
^3, los.," and " Milk, ^i, i8s." The balance for that year came out on the
right side, but how this could be maintained amidst growing family burdens,
unless by increase of liberality on the part of the people, is hard to conceive.
Mr Gilfillan's attitude towards the Union of 1820 was very peculiar. He
had hailed the prospect with lively satisfaction, and his feelings on the sub-
ject found expression in a paper he contributed to the Christian Magazine
on " The Divisions of Reuben." However, when matters were coming to a
point, he could not accept the Basis of Union, but instead of breaking away,
as most of the Protestors did, he occupied middle ground till his death.
During the six years that intervened he never identified himself with the
Courts of the United Church, and even when his son James was ordained at
Stirling the father was not present as a corresponding member. Invited by
the United Secession Presbytery of Perth to take his seat among them he
wrote declining. He was waiting, his son in Stirling explains, until the
New Testimony should appear, and " reserving to himself the right of holding
and preaching all his former peculiarities." Before the New Testimony was
enacted death intervened, and whether the contents would have satisfied
him, or the terms on which it was adopted, " cannot now be determined."
After a painful illness of a very few days he died, 15th October 1826, in the
sixty-fourth year of his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. It was Sabbath,
and most of his people were at Crieff communion, where he was to have
been one of the assistants, and there they heard the announcement that all
was over.
In 1804 Mr GilfiUan published an "Essay on the Sanctification of the
Lord's Day," which passed through eleven editions, one of them m Gaelic.
This was followed in 1822 by a volume of "Short Discourses for the Use of
Families," consisting mostly of papers which he had contributed to the
Christian Magazine, ^xidi which Hugh Miller, in his "Schools and School-
masters," describes as written " with all the concise weight and gravity of
the old divines." Mr Gilfillan's last work, which appeared shortly before
his death, is on "The Holy Spirit." There are, in addition, his "Letters,
chiefly to Afflicted Friends," published in 1828, with a Memoir prefixed by
his son in Stirling.
During the vacancy which followed Mr Gilfillan's death Comne con-
gregation first called Mr David Duncan, whom the Synod in September
1827 appointed to Howgate. After a long pause they issued a divided call
to Mr James Blair,* but at a subsequent meeting of Presbytery it was
* James Blair, a son of the Rev. John Blair of Colmonell, having declined
Comrie, was ordained at Warkworth, in Northumberland, 25th August 1829. Re-
signed under strong advice, 24th March 1835, the Presbytery testifying that ''the
state of his health, and not anything affecting his ministerial character, had led to
this painful result." In compliance with his own request, they proposed that his
name should be placed on the preachers' list, but the Synod, while sympathising with
6i4 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
intimated that the majority did not urge the sustaining in the face of so
large a minority, a course too seldom followed on such occasions.
Third Minister. — James Mitchell, from Brechin (City Road). Or-
dained, 8th September 1830, the stipend being ^90, but no manse. It is
attested that the congregation was quadrupled under Mr GilfiUan, which
would give a membership of 260 ; but it suffered seriously from removals,
and there was the emigration at one time of nearly one-fifth to America.
Mr Mitchell had a high reputation among his compeers for talent and
attainments ; but it is testified that he paid no attention to bodily exercise,
and that " he was irregular in his domestic arrangements, even to criminality."
Acute illness supervened, and he died, 2nd January 1835, in the thirty-sixth
year of his age and fifth of his ministry. To his excellences George Gilfillan
bore the following testimony : — " His sermons often, and his lectures always,
were excellent ; characterised by a correctness, a precision, a subtlety, and
occasionally by a severe grandeur of imagery, which I have seldom heard
equalled in the pulpit." In the summer of that year the congregation called
Gilfillan himself, but, warmly as he cherished his father's memory, he was
not inclined to become his father's successor. In October they fixed on
Mr Adam Lind, but in his case Comrie was displaced by Burntisland, and
Burntisland by Elgin (Moss Street). The congregation agreed at this time
" that, in order to enable a minister to live more comfortably among them, it
was desirable that they should build a manse." The work went on, and the
house, erected on a new site, was ready for occupancy before the vacancy was
filled up.
Fourth Minister. — ROBERT T. Walker, from Alloa (now Townhead).
Ordained, i8th January 1837. Mr Jameson of Methven was to have pre-
sided, but he died suddenly five days before. To the ^90 previously under-
taken a house and garden were now added. Fourteen months afterwards
Mr Walker returned the number of communicants at 177, Monivaird being
almost the only outside parish from which a i&'ff families were drawn. The
debt on the property was .^120, most of it contracted probably in building
the new manse. During the troubled period between this and 1845 it
increased to ;^i6o ; but it was all cleared away under the Debt Liquidating
Scheme, the congregation raising ^90 and the Board allowing ^70. On
2nd March 1841 a matter of serious import emerged. Reports were afloat
respecting Mr Walker's soundness in the faith, and he appeared that day
before the Presbytery of Perth to be conversed with, as the summons bore.
The conversation turned into an examination, and at three successive
meetings the process went on, and the questions — 81 in number — with
the answers he gave, were all taken down to be kept in retentis. In the end
the Presbytery "judged Mr Walker to be highly culpable and deserving
of censure," and, along with certain findings which led up to this conclusion,
they referred the whole case to the Synod. This was the meeting at which
the Rev. James Morison's connection with the Secession Church came to
an end. But in Mr Walker's case the motion which carried was that he
should be exhorted to be more careful in the language he employed on the
subject of the Atonement and related doctrines, and a committee was
appointed " to deal with him with a view to obtain further satisfaction." Mr
Mr Blair, agreed that this would not be expedient. However, before the end of the
year, his wish was granted, and he acted as a probationer till 1837. The ailment was
a distressing delusion, which caused discomfort in manses where he went to supply.
He had now an allowance of £20 a year from the Synod Fund, and this continued
till 1858, when he was one of the first admitted as an annuitant on the Aged and
Infirm Ministers' Fund. He died in Gilmour House Asylum on i8th March 1872,
aged sixty-eight.
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 615
Walker was in the mood for giving satisfaction, and the committee were
in the mood for receiving it. On the one hand the general reference of
the Atonement as opening the door of mercy to mankind-sinners got
prominence, and on the other its special reference to the elect as securing
their salvation. The report was cordially received by the Synod, and entered
in the record " as a comfortable termination of this cause."
On resuming pulpit work at Comrie Mr Walker gave his people an
account of the Synod's decision, but its onesidedness was such that a party
in the church complained of it to the Presbytery. They were headed by an
old elder, named James Campbell, who also attested that "Mr Walker con-
tinues to preach the same unsound and pernicious doctrines as before." At
a subsequent meeting he entered by letter into particulars, as required, and
the wish was to get Mr Walker to assume the defensive, but he declined to
say a word. The question was how to get a new process entered on, as
the worthy elder refused to become the prosecutor, even though the Presby-
tery commissioned two of their number "to direct him as to the proper
mode of procedure." After matters had remained in this state for over a
year the Presbytery furnished Mr Walker with a copy of James Campbell's
paper, and intimated to him that they were to meet in a fortnight, to con-
verse with him in a committee of the whole house ; but he declined to avail
himself of the perilous privilege, and they were left to record in their
minutes that they considered his conduct " unbrotherly." Had they gone
back to a speech Mr Walker delivered at the close of their former "con-
versations " with him they might have understood his unwillingness to pass
through like e.xperiences again. Referring to Mr Marshall of Coupar-
Angus, he said : " I cannot now forget, nor will I soon forget, the continued
threats — for threats I must term them — of one member of Court," and again :
" Many of the questions proposed by at least one of my examinators were of
a kind calculated rather to try my temper than to test my views, to lead
me into error- rather than to elicit truth."
The Presbytery now resolved to cite Mr Walker to attend next meeting,
when they were to ask him whether he held by the opinions contained in
his former answers. This brought them no nearer their design, and to the
Synod in May 1843 the whole case was referred, when a committee was
appointed to communicate with parties, and examine into the facts. The
end might have been better gained by transferring the minister and congre-
gation of Comrie to the Presbytery of Stirling. The committee reported in
October that they had no evidence of Mr Walker having violated his pledge
to be more careful in his language on the doctrines in question. This
arrested further discussion in Church Courts, and on 24th September 1844
Mr Walker accepted a unanimous call to Dunfermline (Chalmers Street),
and Comrie was declared vacant. The congregation, which had increased
one-eighth within the first fourteen months of his ministry, was now reduced
from 177 to 150 or thereby.
The next four years were attended by four disappointments. In De-
cember 1844 they called Mr John Brown Johnston, and he intimated his
acceptance ; but a more important sphere opened at Newcastle, and Comrie
was left behind. A year after this they had the prospect of securing as their
minister Mr James Cursiter, who had preferred Comrie to Carnoustie ; but
he was never able to go on with his trial discourses, and he died at Kirkwall,
his native place, on 25th June 1846, in the thirty-fourth year of his age. In
December of that year they called Mr Alexander Pettigrew, but he accepted
Balbeggie. At this time the members were returned at 160, and the stipend
was to be ^90, with manse and garden. The fourth they called was Mr
Robert Gardner, who was ultimately settled in Annan.
6i6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Fifth Minister.— S^\\AAX^\ F. Swan, from Ayton (Springbank). Having-
declined Aberchirder he was ordained at Comrie, 28th June 1848. On
Thursday, 15th August 1867, a new church, which cost about ^1500, and is
seated for 350, was opened free of debt by the Rev. Dr Johnston of Nicolson
Street, Edinburgh, who was from the same congregation as Mr Swan, a
circumstance which is certain to have drawn out his warm-hearted aid. In
1879 Mr Swan's health became very precarious, and on 25th June 1881 he
was relieved of all responsibility for the work of the congregation, retaining
the manse meanwhile, and having a retiring allowance of ^10 a year.
Sixth Minister. — William Hall, from Innerleithen. The call was
signed by 91 members out of 98, and Mr Hall was ordained, i ith January
1882. Mr Swan vacated the manse, and removed to Edinburgh, where his
health revived considerably, so that he was available for pulpit supply. He
died there, 8th November 1890, in the sixty-ninth year of his age and forty-
third of his ministry. The membership at the close of 1899 '^'^'^ "3) ''^'^^
the stipend from the people had risen from ^90 to ^i 10.
LOGIEALMOND (Antiburgher)
The first mention of this name in the Minutes of the Associate Presbytery
is on 9th October 1744, when a petition for supply was received from Logie-
almond and Glenalmond, and one of their probationers, who was to be at
Kinclaven on the third Sabbath of December, was appointed to have sermon
with them on the following Thursday. Dr M'Kelvie has stated that Logie-
almond people had a moderation granted them on 15th January 1745, but
this is manifestly incorrect. The Presbytery, indeed, held a meeting that
day, but nothing came before them from Logiealmond except a petition for
sermon. On 26th March an accession was given in from 16 persons, who
formed the nucleus of the congregation that was to be. During the next
year and a half Logiealmond had Sabbath supply only eight or nine times,
the preacher being generally either Mr Christie or Mr Beugo, who were
both fixtures on the list. An alleged connection of Mr Moncriefif of Aber-
nethy with that region is favoured by the fact that the fourth meeting of the
Associate Presbytery was held at Condiecleuch, a place in Glenalmond.
The wants of the district go far to explain the application for sermon ten
years afterwards. The parish of Logiealmond was suppressed after the
Reformation, and sermon, which had been kept up in the old church for a
long period, was now discontinued, while the churches of Moneydie, Foulis,
and Methven were each about five miles distant. Thus the Associate Pres-
bytery became " a repairer of the waste places, a restorer of paths to dwell
in." The building of the first church, though sometimes put much earlier,
we assign, as Dr M'Kelvie has done, to 1751, as the session of the North
Church, Perth, granted Logiealmond ^5, 12s. in November 1750 "to help
to defray their charges for building a house for public worship."
First Minister. — HECTOR Chisholm, from the parish of Latheron, in
Caithness. The name comes up in the Presbytery Minutes on 13th July
1742, when his accession was declined till he should get himself further
attested. On 12th August the adventurer from the north was allowed 20s.
sterhng, and on 14th October he was taken under their inspection, but only
"as a private person." We find next from a minute of Ceres session that
Mr Chisholm was applying himself to the study of Latin, probably at St
Andrews, and on three occasions he received aid from their funds. In a like
connection the name comes up in Abernethy records some years later.
Having received licence he was called to Logiealmond in October 1752, his
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 617
command of Gaelic being a decided recommendation ; but there was delay
in sustaining the call, and though the difficulty was got over, Mr Muckersie
of Kinkell refrained from voting. On 24th May 1753 Mr Chisholm was
ordained at Kendrum, the place where the church stood. The call was signed
by 69 (male) members. But though he was ordained over Logiealmond
alone, Comiie was to come in for Sabbath services about once a month.
Gaelic was needed there, and the Presbytery also recommended Mr Chisholm
to have a service in that language at Logiealmond on the first Lord's day
of each month, " for the sake of those in the bounds who do not understand
the English." This, in a perverse spirit, he would not comply with, and
irritation was provoked ; but these things were forgotten amidst matters of
graver moment.
On 15th May 1754 the Presbytery met at Abernethy to take up some
reports bearing on Mr Chisholm's behaviour one Sabbath at Comrie. At
their meeting a week before they had a letter from him, in which he "abso-
lutely refused, and offered to disprove the charge." He now came forward,
ready to brazen it out, and the 5th of June was fixed on for the examination
of witnesses at Kinkell. On the day appointed he did not appear, but,
according to the Minutes, it was "notour" that he had gone off abruptly
from that part of -the country, "deserting his flock and family." It further
appeared that he had taken provision with him for a long journey, having
borrowed money from many people in the locality. Worst of all, it was
ascertained from the testimony of their mother, the widow of the proprietor
of a small estate in Comrie parish, called Cultibracken, that two of her
daughters had gone far too much about Logiealmond manse, and now the
elder of them had disappeared along with Chisholm. On 2nd July the
Presbytery met at Muckart, and at the close of their deliberations the Rev.
William Moncrieff of Alloa, their Moderator, went to the pulpit, and, after
solemn prayer, he pronounced the foresaid Mr Hector Chisholm to be de-
posed from the office of the holy ministry, and cast out from the communion
of the Church. Did the scene suggest to none a contrast between this case,
"with its heinous and atrocious sins and scandals," and the offences of "the
separating brethren" in not seeing eye to eye with others on the demerits of
the Burgess Oath ? A petition from Logiealmond came up that day for
supply of sermon and the observance of a day of fasting and humiliation
among them. They also represented " the melancholy and mournful situa-
tion they are now reduced to," their minister having deserted both them and
his wife and children.
At the Synod in April 1756 an affair from Logiealmond gave some
trouble. A call to Mr VVilliam Bannatyne had been sustained, but after his
ordination was appointed the Presbytery, on the ground of opposition, stopped
procedure and laid the call aside. Mr Bannatyne, believing himself ill-used,
craved the Synod to grant him a testimonial that his ordination was not
prevented "in consequence of any objection against his life and doctrine."
The Synod found that the Presbytery ought to have made fuller inquiry
before deciding not to go on, and with this deliverance they dismissed the
whole affair, and Mr Bannatyne's name is met with no more.
Second Minister. — Alexander Preston, from Abernethy. Ordained,
22nd December 1756. P'rom some fragmentary minutes of session it appears
that in 1776 Mr Preston had nine elders, and in the exercise of discipline
they were faithful to Antiburgher requirements. Thus one of the members,
who had invited some of his neighbours to dine with him on a Sabbath
evening after his child was baptised, was dealt with for encroaching on the
sacredness of the day. A warning had been previously given from the
pulpit "against the evil of such practices," and the parties implicated under-
6i8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
took now to guard against such things for the future. As to temporalitie;
the Old Statistical History gives the following account: — "The minister
has a pretty good living, and rents a farm. Most of the people of the
Established persuasion have seats in the church, and from local convenience
attend divine service there, but communicate in the parish church." In the
winter of 1795 ^r Preston's health gave way, the ailment being a severe
rheumatic affection. Applications for preachers now became frequent,
particularly in winter, and in April 1798 steps were taken to provide him
with a colleague. They first called Mr Thomas Beveridge, but he refused
to accept. Then the Presbytery held a meeting at Logiealmond, when Mr
Beveridge assigned as his chief reason for refusing to be settled there that
Mr Preston had managed opposition against him, and had animadverted
on a Fast day sermon of his. The Presbytery found that Mr Preston had
spoken imprudently about that discourse, as he himself frankly acknow-
ledged, and also that Mr Beveridge had acted rashly in bringing forward
this charge in the face of Logiealmond congregation. The call was now
laid aside, and Mr Beveridge became the first minister of Kinross (East).
This case widened out till it led to Mr Preston resigning his charge.
Within nine weeks of the winding-up with Mr Beveridge the Presbytery
met again at Logiealmond, if haply they might have roots of bitterness
removed. The people had tabled a paper of complaints against their
minister, and we read of an " unseasonable " speech by Mr Preston which
had given offence. Pacific measures were advised ; but at next meeting Mr
Preston petitioned the Presbytery to loose him from Logiealmond, and on
25th June 1799 the pastoral relation was dissolved. The arrangement was
that he should have ^10 a year, with two acres of land, and the old manse
enlarged, but if he were to leave the place he would receive ^^15 in all. He
chose the latter alternative, and went to spend his remaining years in his
nephew's manse at Auchtergaven. It was a remarkable turn of affairs.
During the whole time the congregation there was struggling into existence
Mr Preston had been unbendingly hostile. He was averse to granting
them sermon at all, and when it was agreed to admit certain parties in the
locality into fellowship with the Secession he gave in reasons of dissent,
which were answered with a terseness and fiery edge such as, perhaps, none
of his co-Presbyters except Mr Pringle of Perth could have given them.
It happened that all the while Auchtergaven people were preparing a sphere
of labour for Mr Preston's nephew when Howford failed him. To the manse
at Muirend, which, had he got his own way, would never have been built,
Mr Preston now retired, and found in it a quiet resting-place under the
the pressure of years. He died, 14th May 1809, in the eighty-second year
of his age. He and his wife are reputed to have made a fortune of ^3000
at Logiealmond by growing flax and selling it. If this was so, the allow-
ance given by the congregation need neither have been urged by the Pres-
bytery nor accepted by himself.
Third Minister. — Alexander Young, from Alloa (now Townhead), a
nephew of the Rev. William Barlas of Whitehill. Ordained, i6th April
1800. "The services," says the Christian Magazine., "were conducted in
the open air, and though the day was intensely cold a great congregation
assembled." The stipend at the outset was only ^60, with manse and
glebe, and the call was signed by 84 (male) members. In 181 1 the present
church, with accommodation for 450, was built at a cost of over ^400, and
the manse and office-houses, erected for Mr Young ten years before, involved
an outlay of between ^^200 and ^300. In 1833, though adverse times had
set in, the communicants numbered 334. The minister stated that in the
year 1829-30 there was an emigration of nearly 100 souls to America, and,
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 619
with the exception of three families, they all belonged to his congregation.
The stipend at this time was ^96, with a glebe, which the people rented for
£\2. Of those under Mr Young's care nearly one-half were from the
parishes of Foulis, Methven, Redgorton, and Monzie. For about seven
months in the year the minister preached two discourses in the forenoon
and one in the afternoon each Sabbath. During the five winter months
there were two discourses, and no interval.
In 1863 Mr Young was chosen to be Moderator of Synod. He was then
in the sixty-fourth year of his ministry, and still in full harness. Next year
he preached the opening sermon, which was published ; but, though still
vigorous, he was drawing near the end. He died, i8th October 1864, in the
eighty-ninth year of his age. Of Mr Young's family one son was minister
of Ceres (West) — the Rev. William Barlas Young — and another was the Rev.
John Young of Newburgh ; while the Rev. Dr Davidson of Queen Street,
Edinburgh, was his son-in-law.
Foitrth Mtms/er.—ROBEKT ScOTT, M.A., from Milnathort. Though
the population was declining, Mr Scott wisely preferred Logiealmond to
Dunbar (East). Ordained, 26th April 1866. Within the first year of Mr
Scott's ministry there was an increase of about 20 to the communion roll,
and the people raised their part of the stipend from j^ioo to ^iio, and
afterwards to ^112, los., making the whole ^157, los. Hut there was no
bearing up against the ebbing tide, and when Mr Scott, on ist April
1873, accepted a call to Garscube Road, Glasgow (now St (ieorge's Road),
the membership, which had been between 130 and 140 at Mr Young's death,
was under 120.
During the vacancy of more than two years which followed, the con-
gregation called Mr J. G. Crawford, now of Limekilns, and the Rev. James
M. Cruickshank, previously of Westray, but both preferred to keep by
the probationer list for the time. The stipend was again ^100, with
manse and glebe.
Ftf//i Minister. — David Goodwin, M.A., from Port- William. Ordained,
27th July 1875. The first two years of Mr Goodwin's ministry saw a faint
uprise in membership, but after that there was ground lost year by year,
till the number was reduced to between 80 and 90. Mr (loodwin died, 21st
August 1885, in the thirty-seventh year of his age and eleventh of his
ministry, after an illness of eleven days, much lamented by the members
of his little flock and by all who knew him. He is buried among his
kindred in Mochrum Churchyard.
Sixth Minister. — David Marshall Forrester, B.D., son of the Rev.
James Forrester of Keith, and grandson of the Rev. David Marshall of
Lochee. Owing to continuous decrease in numbers the people could not
offer more than ^70, with manse and glebe, a sum with which the Presby-
tery expressed their satisfaction. Ordained, 8th June 1886. On .Sabbath,
13th January 1895, the ter-jubilee of the congregation was celebrated by
special services, the preacher being the Rev. Dr Oliver, a Moderator of
Synod, and next evening amid a violent snow-storm a soiree was held in the
church. The date was fixed under the impression that the Seceders of
Logiealmond were congregated on 15th January 150 years before; but it
was as if external nature had been up in protest against the blunder. This
commemoration may have led Mr Forrester to become the historian of
Logiealmond Church in his interesting little volume, entitled "The Edge
of the Heather." It proved a service done to his people before bidding
them farewell. Having declined a call to Overnewton Church, Glasgow,
in the end of that year, he accepted Wellfield, Springburn, on 7th July
1896.
620 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Seventh Minister.— ]\M'ES Edmond M'Ouat, B.D., from Balfron,
nephew of the Rev. Dr Edmond of London. Ordained, 8th April i8c
The membership had now declined to little over 60, without the slighte:
prospect of increase. At the close of 1899 it was rather under that figure
but the liberality of the people, gauged by their numbers, was praiseworthy,
being £70 in name of stipend, which was about half of what it was when the
were well-nigh 400 strong.
In Logiealmond we have an extreme type of what has been the experi
ence of United Presbyterian churches in rural districts throughout the land^
For eighty years the Secession had the field very much to itself, and one
is almost surprised that under Mr Young's long and popular ministry the
assimilation was not more extensive. But in 1834, when a chapel of their
own was opened, the seat-holders in membership with the Established
Church withdrew, and the decrease in attendance became marked and
decided. At the Disruption a third congregation rose up to dispute the
ground. Meanwhile the population was being thinned out, till from 1 1 14
in 1838 it was reduced to 511 in 1891, dissenting families finding no special
favour in the eyes of their superiors. Small farmers, moreover, such as
formed the strength of Logiealmond congregation, are the very class who
have enterprise for emigration in times of agricultural distress. These
considerations account largely for the change that has come over the old,
and once widely-attended, congregation of Logiealmond.
METHVEN (Antiburgher)
This congregation originated in a forced settlement on 12th December
1750, when the Rev. James Oswald was inducted into the parish church
by four ministers, members of a " riding committee." The call had been,
signed by only 22 heads of families, most of them the dependents of the
patron, and the case had been contested before the Courts of the Church
for nearly two years. Resistance having been overpowered, the entire
eldership and the great body of the people obtained sermon from the Anti-
burgher Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline. In the summer of 1752
they were engaged in the erection of a church, and in March 1753 it was
taken possession of As confirmatory of these dates, we find that in July
1752 the North Church, Perth, had a collection of ^11 "for helping them
to build a place of worship." In common with other vacancies they had
many blank Sabbaths ; but there was generally sermon at Logiealmond, five
miles off, and Perth was within available distance.
First Minister. — John Wilson, son of the Rev. William Wilson of
Perth. Got licence when scarcely out of his teens. The call was signed
by 131 (male) members, and Mr Wilson was appointed to Methven in pre-
ference to Leslie, Howgate, and Peebles. The ordination took place, 8th
November 1753. On the day before the ordination six families, including an
elder, were disjoined from Kinkell, and 24 persons residing in the west
end of Tibbermuir parish had been disjoined from the North Church, Perth,
shortly before. This process was renewed in the early part of Mr Troup's
ministry at Perth, when there is mention in the North Church records of
disjunctions to 42 members from Cairneyand Burnside, in Forteviot parish,
to 18 from Tibbermuir, and to 28 from Moneydie. About the year 1796
Mr Wilson found himself disabled by infirmities for carrying on the various
parts of his ministerial work, and the congregation abruptly resoh^ed to
have a colleague.
Second Minister. — John Jameson, son of the Rev. William Jameson
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 621
of Kilwinning, and a nephew of Mr Wilson. The call was signed by 231
^. (male) members ; but another from Ceres was preferred by the Synod, the
wishes of the preacher and the claims of kindred being alike set aside. Mr
Jameson, however, though pre-eminently a man of peace, firmly refused
compliance, and, all efforts to induce him to yield havmg failed, he was re-
buked, and the call was allowed to drop. He was ordained at Methven, 14th
March 1798. We read in the Christian Magazine that, as the day was
cold, and the service in the open air, many went away at the interval, but
in the afternoon there were congregations both in the church and school-
house. The entire work devolved upon the junior colleague— his uncle, who
was unable to appear at the ordination, being recommended at the close of
the services to desist from all parts of the ministerial office. Amidst family
trials and his own ailments he was in danger of betaking himself to delusive
aid, and the recommendation was never formally withdrawn. He died, 31st
January 1803, in the seventieth year of his age and fiftieth of his ministry.
From the notices of the day we gather that he was "endeared to all his
acquaintance by an amiable disposition and sweetness of temper"; while
"the plain, warm, and affectionate manner of his preaching made his public
ministrations very acceptable." Under Mr Wilson's pastoral care the con-
gregation grew strong, so that Methven used to be spoken of as one of the
most decidedly seceding parishes in Scodand, and in 1794 the Old Statistical
History gives 171 families as belonging to the Established Church and 226
to the Secession.
Mr Jameson is best known by his " Letters to Afflicted Friends," which
are marked by a rare mingling of the beautiful and the pathetic. His
sermon on "True Fame" generally forms part of the same volume. The
Rev. David Nicol of Aberlady, who was brought up under his ministry,
spoke of Mr Jameson as "the godliest man he ever knew" ; while George
Gilfillan, with abounding enthusiasm, designated him "one of the uncrowned
princes and unappreciated moral giants among our kind." He died on 13th
January 1837, m the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-ninth of his
ministry. Having returned from some pastoral visitation he retired to
his study, and a short time afterwards he was found to have fallen over on
to the floor, the placid smile on his face, but the spirit gone. By Mr
Jameson's marriage with a daughter of Dr Pringle of Perth the family had
a double connection with the founders of the Secession Church, the father
being the grandson of the Rev. William Wilson of Perth and the mother
the granddaughter of the Rev. Alexander Moncrieff of Abernethy. It is
enough to name his son William, first of Jamaica and then Calabar, leaving
"The Gospel to the Africans" to tell the rest.
Third Minister. — GEORGE BRUCE Watson, from Ayton (Summerhill),
but belonging to Chirnside, where in his student days he took an active
part in originating a United Secession church. Mr Watson's preacher
course was not all smoothness. First, he received a call to Sunderland,
and before it was sustained he had a letter forward stating his readiness
to accept. At next meeting he declined the call, and the congregation com-
plained that he had broken his word. Mr Watson having taken no notice
of a summons to appear before the Presbytery, they wrote him again with
certification, and were told in reply that he declined their jurisdiction. At
next Synod he was brought up for failure on two occasions to fulfil appoint-
ments ; but, as his name was about to be taken from the list, it was agreed
to proceed no further. Mr Watson, having declined a call to Chirnside,
was ordained at Methven, 26th June 1838. The call was signed by 386
members, and the stipend was ^^140, without a manse.
In May 1841 the chapter of confusion opened, to be followed by the
622 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
shattering of the Secession cause at Methven. Disagreements had arisen i
the session, the managers also mingling in the quarrel, and the Presbytery
on being appealed to exhorted the minister and his elders to bury their
past differences. In July 1842 the Presbytery, having ascertained that the
congregation had adopted a resolution calling on the greater part of the
elders to resign, heard parties, and found " that the present discord has
originated in the session, and that the Moderator is chiefly to blame for it,"
and they appointed two of their number to interview the disputants on an
early day. They reported that, while Mr Watson expressed his readiness to
forget and forgive, he firmly refused to meet with the elders as a session,
because "he had no confidence in them." He also protested against the
above decision of Presbytery, and appealed to the Synod, a step which
necessitated the hanging up of the case for other ten months. In May 1843
the Synod appointed a committee to visit Methven, and "endeavour to
heal the breach " ; but without effect, and meanwhile confusion got worse con-
founded. On nth July papers bearing on the state of the congregation
were brought to the Presbytery, but not through the session, because Mr
Watson had refused to call a meeting for their transmission. On 21st
August his conduct in this respect was adduced as a charge against him ;
but instead of vindicating himself he tabled a protest against further pro-
cedure, and walked to the door. The scene ended with the suspension of
Mr Watson from office and membership ; but, of course, the sentence was
treated as null and void.
At the Synod in October Mr Watson was more in the yielding mood,
and a new committee was appointed, with better prospects of success. A
fortnight passed, and on 25th October the Presbytery met at Perth, the
members of committee who had been engaged at Methven the day before
being with them, and having the right to speak and vote. It appeared
that Mr Watson and his party were ready to abide by the concessions they
had made in Edinburgh, whatever these may have been ; but those on the
other side were utterly unprepared to come to terms. A final effort in the
interests of peace was essayed, but to no avail. It was proposed to give Mr
Watson another chance ; but the motion carried by a majority of two to
restore him to office, "while they declare it inexpedient that his ministry
be continued longer at Methven," and the congregation was rent asunder.
The sentence being disregarded, his nam.e was dropped from the roll on
5th December 1843, and those who adhered to him were declared out of
connection. The Presbytery and the Synod's Committee having been
empowered to issue the case, the door was closed against formal appeal.
The Synod, however, at their meeting in May 1844 took up a complaint
from Mr Watson ; but by a majority they confirmed the Presbytery's decision,
dissolving his connection with the congregation of Methven.
On the Sabbath after the Presbytery's sentence Mr Lamb of Errol, who
had been appointed to declare the church vacant, preached in a tent, Mr
Watson keeping possession of the pulpit for this and the four following
Sabbaths. He and his party had then to leave the building in the hands
of the minority, which included about two-fifths of the membership. A plain
church was built for Mr Watson without delay, where he ministered apart
from all ecclesiastical connection till May 1864, when he was admitted into
the Established Church. It was explained to the General Assembly that
the building was his own property, and that the session and congregation
were unanimous in making the application. Accordingly, it was agreed that
Mr Watson be received " as an ordained minister of the Church of Scotland,
with power as such to minister to his own congregation," but on the con-
nection between him and them being dissolved the church should be closed.
I
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 623
A transference came three years after, and on nth June 1867 Mr Watson
was mducted as assistant to the parish minister of Firth and Stennis, in
Orkney. His congregation, which consisted of about 300 members at the
rT^° <"u'' severance but was now scarcely 200, went over to the Estab-
lished Church, with the exception of 19 members, who returned to their
former communion. The deserted place of worship, "Mansion Nook
Lhapel, still stands, and is used on rare occasions as a hall for public
meetings. Mr Watson removed in 1869 to New Brampton, Chatham,
where, besides filling the office of Army Chaplain, he ministered to a little
congregation in connection with the Church of Scotland. He died at
Alaidstone, 31st March 1898, in the ninety-first year of his age and sixtieth
of his ministry. Of four sons, one was parish minister of Lauder, but died
m 1876; another is minister of Cavers; and two are in the Church of
England— the one a curate at South Melford, Yorkshire, and the other
chaplain of the State Prison, Maidstone, Kent.
In April 1845 the party adhering to the Synod called Mr Henry Erskine
Eraser, who declined, and was settled in North Shields. They next called
Mr Robert M'Laurin, who obtained West Calder soon afterwards.
Fourth Mims/er.— John Millar, from Alloa (Townhead), who had
been ordained at North Middleton, 26th September 1844. Inducted to
Methven, 30th June 1846. The stipend promised was ^100 in all, and the
membership, which had been 500 or thereby at Mr Watson's ordination,
was down now to 190. A new church, with sittings for 280, was opened on
i6th August 1868, the cost being ^1525. Of this sum Dr M'Kinlay of the
Andersonian College, Glasgow, a brother of Mrs Millar, gave ^1000,
and no burden was left on the building. On 12th January 1892 Mr Millar
withdrew from the active duties of the pastorate, resigning at the same time
all claim to any retiring allowance.
Ft//h Minister.— K. M. Christie, M.A., from Lochee. Having got
licence in September 1885 Mr Christie in the following spring went to
America, where he was ordained over Jackson Street Church, Mobile, 6th
June 1887. On account of ill-health in his family his resignation was
accepted on 20th August 1889, the congregation bearing ample testimony to
his gifts and excellences! After his return to Scotland the Synod placed
his name on the preachers' list in May 1890, and on ist September 1892 he
was inducted to Methven as colleague and successor to Mr Millar. In the
early part of 1893 the congregation advanced the stipend ^10, and in the
following year other ^5, making the entire sum from the people ^115, at
which it still remains. Mr Millar died, 12th June 1900, in the eighty-second
year of his age and fifty-sixth of his ministry. The membership at the close
of 1 899 was 1 30.
CRIEFF (Antiburgher)
The minister of Crieff parish during the first half of last century was the
Rev. John Drummond, a thoroughly evangelical preacher, and an upholder
of the Marrow doctrines in a very pronounced form. Under his ministry
Crieff shared in the Revival influence of 1742, and eight prayer meetings
were started within the bounds at that time. Mr Drummond died in 1754,
in his seventy-eighth year, and it is attested in the Old Statistical History
that up till then the whole parish was connected with the Establishment,
except a number of Episcopalians. This sets aside Dr M 'Kelvin's well-
known formula to the effect that several of Mr Drummond's people, dis-
approving of his conduct in co-operating so far with the Four Brethren
without finally seceding, withdrew from his ministry, and joined the Associate
624 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Presbytery. It was under Mr Drummond's successor that the Secession
took root in the parish of Crieff. This was the Rev. Thomas Stewart, who,
after holding on for a dozen years, was deposed in 1767 for being "habit
and repute a drunkard." In the early part of his ministry a number of
Crieff parishioners betook themselves to Kinkell for gospel ordinances.
On 3rd February 1762 a petition for sermon from some people about
Crieff came before the Presbytery of Stirling, but they had been receiving
occasional supply before this. A coalescence with the Seceders at Comrie
was now in prospect, but Kinkell session refused to let go their hold of
Crieff, though six and a half miles distant. The case being referred to the
Synod they erected Crieff and Comrie into a congregation, with two places
of worship and a joint session. In 1763 they called Mr James Russell,
whom the Presbytery appointed to Orwell. This call was signed by 70'
(ihale) members, of whom Crieff must have furnished considerably morei
than the half Their church was built in 1765.
First Minister. — James Barlas, from Perth (North). Ordained at'
Crieff, 3rd March 1 767, Comrie to have a third of his labours. A note-book
of Mr Barlas' shows that he lectured straight on, no matter at which of the
places he preached, an indication that the people travelled the intervening
six miles the days when their own church was closed. But discontent over so
many blank Sabbaths took an acute form in Crieff after a number of years, and
a change was pronounced indispensable. Their funds were falling off, and it
was only by having constant supply that they could hope to increase and
prosper. It was with Comrie and its inability to stand alone that the Presby-
tery had difficulties ; but these were got over, and on nth March 1778 the
union between the two divisions of the congregation — the eastern and the
western — came to an end.
In 1804 Mr Barlas sent up a remonstrance to the Synod against the New^
Testimony, and in 1805 he tabled a protest against their proceedings in the'
New Light direction, but he did not, like Professor Bruce and the others, carry
the matter to open severance. The alterations gone into may, however,
have hastened his determination to retire, and in July following he preached
his farewell sermon to his congregation, though he still ranked as their
minister. At this juncture a Constitutionalist church was formed in Crieff,
which, after waiting fourteen years, got Mr Thomas M'Crie (afterwards Dr
M'Crie the younger) for their minister, and as the call was signed by 48
men the movement must have seriously weakened the old congregation.
But even under Mr M'Crie the cause did not succeed, and in 1826 he
demitted his charge "on account of the inadequacy of the support afforded
him." The vacancy was never filled up, though the congregation was in
existence so late as 1838, with 21 communicants, and sermon on alternate
Sabbaths.
In 1807 the Rev. James Simpson, formerly of Thurso, was called to
Crieff, but he was appointed to Potterrow, Edinburgh. In April 1810 Mr
Barlas' resignation was reported to the Synod, and he died, loth Decem-
ber 181 1, in the sixty-seventh year of his age and forty-fifth of his ministry.
From a brief notice in the Christian Magazine by his son-in-law, the Rev.
Samuel Gilfillan of Comrie, we learn that his father was a merchant in Perth,
and that the Rev. William Barlas of Dundee was his brother. The con-
gregation next called Mr James Reid, whom the Synod appointed to
Newmilns, but who was ordained at Sanquhar.
Second Minister. — Andrew Scott, from Dennyloanhead, a brother of
the Rev. William Scott of Leslie. Ordained, 20th September 18 14, Crieff
having been preferred to Auchinleck and Saltcoats (West) by the Synod.
Shortly before this the Burgher Presbytery of Perth opened a preaching
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 625
station at Crieff, and supply was kept up till the Union of 1820 was drawing
near, when the Presbytery Clerk got intimation to have it discontinued.
This was wise, and it is to be hoped the other congregation got the benefit.
Mr Scott died suddenly, 21st February 1824, in the thirty-fourth year of his
age and tenth of his ministry. Mrs Scott, like Mrs GilfiUan of Comrie, was
a daughter of Mr Barlas, the former minister. At the close of 1828 the
congregation agreed "if there be a surplus after paying the minister's
stipend, etc., to give a small present to Mrs Scott's children, as a testimony
of regard for her husband, their late pastor."
Third Minister.— ^ \\A.\\y\ Ramsay, from Kinclaven. Ordained, 2nd
February 1825, when Mr Jameson of Methven preached, and "at the close
many were affected to tears by the impressive allusions to the sudden and
distressing manner in which their late pastor was taken from them." Mr
Ramsay's call was subscribed by 59 (male) members, only 1 1 more than the
Constitutionalists mustered for Mr M'Crie three years before. The two
companies combined would have formed a goodly array, but disunion is
weakness. In 1837 the old place of worship was taken down, and another,
built on the same site, was opened on the first Sabbath of January 1838, with
sittings for nearly 550, the cost being about j^6oo. The communicants were
between 230 and 250, of whom nearly one-fourth came from other parishes,
chiefly Monivaird ; while Monzie, Madderty, Foulis, and Muthil furnished
three or four families each. The stipend was ^105, with ^8, 8s. for sacra-
mental expenses ; but there was no manse, and the debt amounted to ^300.
About that time a Committee of Presbytery reported "that the management
of their pecuniary affairs has been careless and slovenly." Accordingly,
seat rents were greatly in arrears, and subscriptions to the building fund not
paid up. The session came close to the root evil when they set about deal-
ing with members who were neglecting Church ordinances. Spiritual reviving
is the best security for reviving all round.
During the Atonement Controversy Crieff congregation was much dis-
turbed through its pro.ximity to Comrie. When Mr Walker was under
examination before Perth Presbytery the church officer was found guilty of
applying unbecoming language to the doings of that venerable Court. He
also found fault with the doctrine of a particular Atonement, and had caught
up a phrase about the Saviour's death having placed all men in a salvable
state. For these things, and for circulating pamphlets " full of gross Arminian
errors," the session suspended him from Church fellowship. This was in
1841, and next year certain members ceased to attend Mr Ramsay's ministry.
They were travelling to Comrie on Sabbath, and, to make amends, a number
of Comrie people were worshipping regularly at Crieff, among others Mr
Walker's old elder, James Campbell, who had changed his residence to
Crieff, " but had been unable to get a disjunction." These things led Mr
Ramsay to speak at the Synod "of the jealousy, distrust, and opposition
manifested by the people of Crieff and Comrie, which he contrasted with the
brotherly love and harmony which formerly existed between them." With
Mr Walker's removal to Dunfermline the excitement would abate, but both
congregations must have suffered damage in various ways while it lasted.
In 1845 a" effort was made to have the debt on Crieff Church removed, and
by the aid of the Liquidation Board, which made a grant of one-half, j^240
was cleared away.
The session records in Mr Ramsay's time reveal an unhappy system of
dealing with offenders. A member of the congregation has been active in
getting up a preaching station at Muthil, and they refuse him an attestation
of character till he shall acknowledge this irregularity. They also bring in
that he has been calling them tyrants, and the case finds its way to the
626 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Presbytery. An elder's son is refused a disjunction, and in replying to his
protest the Moderator explains to the Presbytery that they have certain
charges against him. It ends in a triumph for the protestor and in the
father withdrawing from office and membership. In 1854 the pecuniary
affairs of the church were in a very unsatisfactory state, the stipend being
^126 in arrears. In i860 there was additional outlay owing to the minister's
temporary failure of eyesight, and special subscriptions were required. But
always the machinery dragged, and at last, in December 1866, the congrega-
tion agreed to request the session to confer with the minister about retiring.
Mr Ramsay had now reached the age of seventy-four, and the proposal may]
not have been altogether out of place. But a union between the two CriefTJ
churches was also in prospect, though the movement ended in failure.
Even in preparing the way for amalgamation there was a sad lack of the j
kindly spirit. For example, it had been customary for some time, when'
either of the ministers was from home, for the two congregations to worship]
together, the other minister occupying his own pulpit in the forenoon and '
the vacant pulpit in the afternoon. But the attendance on these occasions^
was disappointing, and Mr Ramsay's session quietly suggested that it might
be advisable to have the practice discontinued. This brought an ill-judged
Minute from the session of the South Church, and such things were unfavour-
able to harmonious action at a later time. In February 1867 the session of
the North Church, by directions of Presbytery, drafted certain articles to be
given in as a Basis of Union, on most of which there could be no room for
difference of opinion. But they stipulated that the North Church, being the
larger and more commodious, should be the regular place of meeting, and
they enforced this by an argument which should have set the matter at rest^
It ran thus : "• By the North leaving their property they lose it, but though
the South leave their place of worship they still retain it." While these
points were under discussion the session of the South Church requested a
conference with their brethren of the other session, and at the hour appointed
most of the elders and several of the managers appeared. It transpired,
however, that they had not come in a sessional capacity, and the Moderator^
instead of welcoming them as individuals, put the question from the Chair,
what proposal they had to make to the session of the North Church. The
answer being given that they only wished some conversation he then asked
what they wished to converse about, "and dead silence followed, which
lasted for some time." Had this affair been better guided it might have
helped to kindly feeling.
The turn negotiations now took belongs rather to the history of the South
Church. To open up the way it was understood that the two ministers, wha
were each midway between seventy and eighty, would retire. Mr Martin's
people had already been arranging for a colleague, and Mr Ramsay was
prevailed on to express his willingness to withdraw, if this were deemed
expedient. It was accordingly resolved by a Synodical Committee to have
the union carried through on the first Sabbath of March 1869, the twa
congregations to meet together that day as one in the South Church, and
when the committee met again four weeks afterwards they agreed to regard
the union as completed, the united congregation to worship regularly in the
North Church. This sounds well, but the union did not bring a single
additional elder to the North Church session, and the members who acceded
were only between 20 and 30, though others have joined since, some of them
quite recently having withdrawn from the ministry of the Rev. Alexander
Robinson, the present pastor.
But from this time forward the North Church enjoyed a flow of good
fortune. The pulpit was occupied Sabbath after Sabbath by outstanding
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 627
ministers of the denomination, thanks to the warm interest of the Synod's
Committee, and specially of Dr James Taylor, its convener. A new church
in a better part of the town was deemed indispensable, and to aid in the
good work "it was intimated that the lay members of the committee had
raised the sum of ^500." The two aged ministers had been declared united
in the joint pastorate of the congregation ; but no time was lost in providing
for their retirement, Mr Ramsay being to receive an allowance of ^30 a
year, and Mr Martin ^15, along with the manse he occupied. They were
also to be placed as annuitants on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund.
On 13th July 1869 their resignations were accepted, their names being
retained on the Presbytery roll, and on the following Sabbath the pulpit was
declared vacant.
Fourth Minister.— ]om^ C. iNGLES, from School Wynd, Dundee. Having
preferred Crieff to Colinsburgh he was ordained there, 9th February 1870.
The call was signed by 1 1 1 members, a token of no great increase in numerical
strength ; but the feeling among all concerned may have been that, with
denominational forces no longer divided, Crieff congregation was entering
on an era of prosperity. Mr Ramsay died, 23rd August thereafter, in the
seventy-eighth year of his age and forty-sixth of his ministry. His lectures
on the Book of Revelation, the volume by which he is best known, show him
to have been a man of very considerable mental vigour. In 1881 a com-
modious manse was built at a cost of slightly over ^1000, of which ^300
came from the Board, and fully ^700 was raised by the people. On loth
August 1884 the new church was opened by Principal Cairns, with sittings
for 533, and built at a cost of nearly ^6000. This large expenditure they
met by subscriptions, collections, and the like, but without a bazaar, so that
in 1891 they were free of debt. The communion roll at the close of 1 899
was approaching 300, and the stipend was ^200, with the manse.
CRIEFF (Relief)
On 15th July 1782 some of Crieff people applied to the Relief Presbytery of
St Ninians to be taken under their inspection, and Mr Brown of Auchter-
arder was appointed to preach to them on a convenient Sabbath. Two
other members of Presbytery supplied thereafter on separate days, and then
the Presbytery delayed granting sermon further till pecuniary matters were
settled with the elders and managers of Auchterarder, of which they had
formed a branch. This barrier being removed it was agreed on 23rd
December to recognise them as a forming congregation. .Soon afterwards
a church was built a little way to the east of the town ; but for the next three
years, owing to the dearth of preachers, they had only seven Sabbaths filled
up, at least by appointment of Presbytery.
First Mittister. — John B.mllie, a man with a history behind him.
When a student of divinity he professed to be grieved with the backslidings
of the Established Church, and was received into the Burgher fellowship by
the session of Dalkeith. Having obtained licence he was called to New-
castle and Burntshields, and, the Synod having preferred the former, he was
ordained in 1769 over what came to be known as Barras Bridge con-
gregation. Fourteen years afterwards his elders and managers lodged a
complaint against him before Edinburgh Presbyter}', as did also certain
"aggrieved members." On 6th April 1784 he resigned his charge, withdrew
from the Burgher communion, and was suspended sine die. Charlton's
History of Newcastle brings to the front "his too great love of conviviality,"
and this, according to another authority, "led him into irregularities
628
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
peculiarly inconsistent with his profession." It is also stated that after]
being put out of his church he passed some time in Newgate for debt, but]
escaped into Scotland through the misplaced confidence of one of his]
keepers. He was then admitted to ministerial status by the Relief Presby-I
tery of Edinburgh, and was even chosen to act as Clerk of Synod inj
1785. Now Crieff people fixed on Mr Baillie for their minister, and hej
was inducted to his second charge, 28th June 1786.
The membership at this time cannot have been large, as the second callJ
five years later, was signed by only 32 men and 18 women, and the parishioners]
of all ages connected with the Relief were given not long after at 96. The]
Old Statistical History ascribes the congregation's origin to an unpopularl
settlement in a neighbouring parish, but this cannot be correct. It ig|
probable, however, that the cause, after being fully formed, was helped bj
accessions from Madderty, where a minister was ordained about the time
of Mr Baillie's induction, though this did not figure as a case of violent
intrusion. Towards the end of 1788 commissioners represented to the
Presbytery the extreme distress of the congregation. On loth Februar
1789 a member of Presbytery was appointed to preach at Crieff, and pub-
licly rebuke Mr Baillie for his conduct " in the irregular way of marrying
his daughter," but the people shut the doors against him. On 12th Maj
the representatives of the congregation, by direction of Presbytery, brought
up a libel against their minister, with a list of witnesses, and he was
summoned to appear at next meeting. When the appointed day came, it
was announced that the managers had paid him ^40, and he had engagec"
to demit his charge. Three of the leading men had also signed a paper
attesting Mr Baillie's character as a man and a minister. All that remainec'
for the Presbytery now was to carry out the infliction of censure upon the
offender, and as it would be inconsistent with their dignity to preach to the
people of Crieff until they gave satisfaction for "shutting the church doors
on a deputy of theirs " the rebuke was to be administered at AuchterarderJ
On 28th June it was announced that Mr Baillie had "cordially submitted^
to discipline," and he was loosed from his charge.
He now returned to Newcastle, where he joined Mr William Tinwell,
author of a system of Arithmetic, in conducting an academy, his department
being Classics and his partner's Mathematics. This connection coming to
an end, some of his friends fitted up a chapel for him in 1797, where he
preached, and at the same time assisted his daughter, who kept a school.
We read that after her death he suffered many pecuniary difficulties. He
died on 12th December 1806, in the sixty-sixth year of his age. Mr Baillie
besides Lectures on Revelation, wrote "An Impartial History of Newcastle'
and also a " History of the French War." Altogether he seems to have
been not only "a clever" but an accomplished man, and one who under the
sway of a higher inspiration might have filled an honourable place in the
Church. Among his publications was a " Funeral Sermon occasioned hy
the Death of his daughter Frances," probably the daughter above referre '
to. The eldest was married to the Rev. Robert Sangster, Relief minister!
of Perth.
Second Minister. — William Bf:ll, from Paisley (Oakshaw Street).
After he had attended the Antiburgher Hall two sessions, there was a break
by reason of his wavering attachment to Antiburgher principles ; but in
'-tarch 1787 he appeared anew before Glasgow Presbytery, when his
mi\ister, the Rev. James Alice, complained that for some time Mr BelV
had J^tended the Relief minister and sometimes the Burghers and th<
Established Church. Mr Bell stated that he had not been satisfied as tfl
the systen. of covenanting ; but he " never had any proper peace of mir
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 629
during his apostacy," and he wished to be restored to his former status.
He was accordingly rebuked, and allowed to attend the Divinity Hall,
which he did other two sessions. But the Scripture text : " Will ye also
go away?" lost its power to detain him on Antiburgher lines, and in June
1790 he was introduced to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow as a candidate
for licence by the Rev. Patrick Hutchison of Paisley. He was ordained at
Criefif, 17th October 1791.
Outward prosperity did not visit Crieff congregation along with the
young minister. The people appear to have felt that the situation of the
meeting-house outside the town stood in the way of progress, and in May
1795 they requested' the Presbytery of St Ninians to befriend them in
removing to a better centre. That same month the Synod was appealed
to for aid, but owing to other demands they could do nothing. The building,
however, with 450 sittings, went on, but at what cost is not known. Towards
the close of Mr Bell's ministry his stipend was not fully paid, and in 1822
the Synod aided for once to the e.xtent of ^10. Soon afterwards it was
arranged that he should retire on an allowance of ^30 a year from the
congregation, and this being acquiesced in the pastoral tie was dissolved
on 6th January 1824. Having removed to Paisley Mr Bell died there on
6th January 1825, in the seventieth year of his age and thirty-fourth of his
ministry.
Third Mmisfer.—] OHH Martin, from Hutchesontown, Glasgow. Or-
dained, i6th March 1825. The stipend was to be ^90, and there was the
promise of other ^5 for every additional 50 seat-holders. The members
at this time were supposed to be 150, and in 1838 they numbered 235.
About a fifth of the families were from Muthil and Madderty, with a few
from Monzie, Foulis, and Monivaird. The stipend was still ^^90, but with
an additional £4 if the funds allowed. The managers' books show that in
1836 the payments began to fall behind, till in 1847 the arrears of stipend
were upwards of ^200, but Mr Martin freely remitted this debt. In 1856
Crieff (Second) appears on the Synod's list of supplemented congregations,
the people paying ^82 and the Board ^10. Next year the present church,
with 350 sittings, was erected at a cost of .^565, and the minister was also
provided with a manse close by. But meanwhile there had been steady
decline in numbers, till from 235 in 1838 there were 136 reported in 1857,
and ten years later there was a further reduction to 112. The stipend was
now ^85, with a supplement of ^25, which was more altogether than Mr
Martin had in the congregation's best days.
In the beginning of 1867 it was resolved to provide Mr Martin \vith a
colleague. In proportion to their numbers the congregation devised liberal
things. Besides £\o to the senior minister, with the manse, they were
to make the stipend ^120, without aid from the Synod Fund. The Presby-
tery struck in at this point with a unanimous opinion "as to the extreme
desirableness of a union between the two congregations in Crieff," and a
committee was appointed to confer with both parties, and report. When
Crieff Case came up in July it was stated by the convener that the South
congregation required as a term of union that the North congregation raise
^300 as a set-off against the value of .their manse. Meanwhile deputies
from the Home Mission Board and the Presbytery met with the South
congregation, but found the people in strong opposition to union on any
conceival)le terms. A motion of approval, provided the North Church
raised the ^300, had only 4 supporters, while the counter-motion that
negotiations forthwith terminate had 28. At the meeting in the North
Church that same evening a unanimous wish was expressed in favour of
union, believing that it would be to the benefit of the U.P. cause in Cneff,
630
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
and the people engaged to do their utmost to raise the ^300 insisted on.
It was all in vain. The South congregation pressed their petition for
preachers with a view to a colleague, and they now undertook to provide
;^i5o a year for stipend and retiring allowance together.
The Presbytery resolved to refer the case to the .Synod, with the ex-
pression of their conviction that " the time has come when the South con-
gregation ought to be enjoined that which is convenient." The case stirred
a warm discussion, the commissioners pleading that, with the prospect of
an increasing population, there was room for the two churches in Crieff, and
Mr Marshall of Coupar-Angus urging that, though the South congregation
was promising ^1503 year, there was neither security nor likelihood that
they would be able to pay it. A bold stand was made for the rights of the
people by Professor Calderwood and others, but a motion carried to appoint
a large committee "to confer with both congregations in order to secure
if possible a harmonious settlement of present difficulties, with full powers
to issue the case." Under the convenership of Dr James Taylor the
committee went into their work with great heartiness. Within six weeks
they had the two congregations worshipping together in their respective
churches alternately, the services being conducted by "ministers of high
standing," and all at the Synod's expense. But, notwithstanding these
attractions, only a section of the South congregation were present at divine
service when it was conducted in the North Church. It was time to ask : Is
this not labour lost, and the Synod's money besides ? The arrangement
lasted some months without amalgamation being brought one iota nearer.
It was next proposed to have stone and lime partialities superseded by the
erection of a new place of worship, but by a majority of 33 to 8 the South
congregation refused to surrender. However, at a subsequent meeting the
suggestion to sell both properties and apply the proceeds to the building of
a new church, " with assistance from friends of the cause in Glasgow " and
elsewhere, was favourably entertained, and a resolution to this effect was
described as having been unanimously agreed to. Here was a foothold for
decisive action now.
That the united congregation might proceed as speedily as possible to
choose a pastor it was arranged that the two aged ministers should retire on
an allowance equal to ^80 a year, including the grant from the Annuity
Fund. Then on 15th February 1869 the committee resolved that the union
should take place forthwith. The North and the South congregations were
appointed to meet together in the South Church on the first Sabbath of
March, and Dr Frew, the Moderator of Synod, was to preach and declare
them henceforth united. The marriage arrangements were perfect, but,
unfortunately, there were neither to be responses nor the joining of hands.
On the evening of the previous Thursday the South congregation met, and
by a very large majority decided against the union. A small minority on
the other side had for some time been making their presence felt at church
meetings, and they were now to combine with the North congregation. But
on Sabbath morning, when Dr Frew and his friends came to the door of the
South Church, they found it locked against them, and the services had to be
conducted in the other and larger place of worship. On Thursday evening,
1st April, the anti-unionists met, and resolved unanimously to go over to the
Congregational Union, and before the year was out they had a minister set
over them in that connection. A successor of his drifted into Unitarianism,
and this prompted some families to seek back to the fellowship of the U.P.
Church. The little congregation is still enrolled under the same flag,
and they have now for their minister the Rev. Alexander Robinson, B.D.,
formerly of the Established Church, Kilmun, the author of a book, entitled
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 631
*' The Saviour in the Newer Light," which gave the General Assembly much
trouble, and threw the author out of his church.
After the bulk of his congregation joined the Independents, taking the
property with them, Mr Martin occupied an anomalous position. The
Minutes of Synod for 1869 recorded that the North and South congregations,
Crieff, had been united into one by a Committee of Synod empowered to
that effect, and, in consistency with this declaration, Messrs Ramsay and
Martin appear on the Synod roll that year as colleagues. Mr Martin occu-
pied the manse as aforetime, the question of legal rights not being stirred ;
but he worshipped in the North Church, and received ^15 a year from its
funds. He died, 2nd February 1879, in the eighty-sixth year of his age and
fifty-fourth of his ministry, leaving the remembrance of his unobtrusive
worth behind him. Had the leading men in the congregation approximated
to his peaceful ways, the gathering of the United Presbyterianism in Crieff
into one would not have proved a bootless endeavour. A number of years
after this the Presbytery^ of Perth assigned " the uniting of congregations "
as a reason for the decrease of membership within their bounds. Of seven
Relief churches which had their names dropped from the roll of that Presby-
tery Crieff was the oldest, and its very tenacity of life evinced that it was
not ill-compacted. It furnishes an illustration of what ill-boding attempts
at union are apt to come to. It is true that the supreme court has to keep
the central funds from being misapplied, but in the present case the
minimum stipend was engaged for. Still, the right idea was one vigorous
congregation in Crieff, and had there been less of rude imperiousness in
the Presbytery, and less of nimble dexterity in the Synod's Committee, union
might without much loss of time have become an accomplished fact instead
of being little more than a fiction or a name.
PITCAIRN (Burgher)
Towards the end of last century Cromwell Park, in the parish of Redgorton,
became a seat of manufacturing activity. This led to a petition being pre-
sented to the Burgher Presbytery of Perth for sermon on loth January 1797.
The paper giving reasons for leaving the Established Church was signed
by 100 persons, most of them heads of families, and the station was opened
on the fourth Sabbath of January, Four elders were ordained on 22nd
February 1798, and a fifth, disjoined from Wilson Church, also became a
member of session. In November 19 members of that congregation residing
in the locality were likewise transferred to strengthen the new formation.
In March 1798 the name changes in the Presbytery records from Cromwell
Park to Pitcairn, which may be taken as marking the time when the new
church, with sittings for 450, was ready for occupancy. The cost of the
building, including manse and session-house, was given m 1838 as ^ 1000.
How much of that large outlay was met at once, or how the heavy burden
was reduced, there is nothing to show. In September they called Mr James
narrower, promising a stipend of ^^70, with manse and garden, but a prior
call to Denny was preferred by the Synod. , ,r- ,
First Minister.— ]OH'ii Stewart, from the parish of Kirkpatnck-
Fleminc^, but brought up under the ministry of the Rev. John Johnston,
Ecclefechan. A call to Mr Stewart from Crail was already lying on their
table, and another from Newbigging was brought up along with that froni
Pitcairn, but the three congregations being all under the jurisdiction of
Perth Presbytery a reference to the Synod was not required, and Pitcairn
carried by an absolute majority. The call was signed by 50 members and
632
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
adhered to by 153 ordinary hearers, and to the stipend formerly offered
sum of ;^4 for sacramental expenses was added, and coals were to be
supplied instead of being merely driven. Mr Stewart was ordained, 28thj
February 1799. ''The whole service," says the Christia?! Magazhie, "was
in a field adjoining the meeting-house, and, the day being favourable, thf
audience was very numerous." Mr Stewart moved on comfortably at
Pitcairn for eight years, but in October 1807 he wrote Edinburgh Presbyter
expressing his willingness to undertake a mission to England any time that
winter. Some Scottish people residing in Liverpool were combining to form!
a Secession congregation there, and the Presbytery, availing themselves of
Mr Stewart's offer, appointed him to the new station for three months, anc
about midsummer he was unanimously called to this larger field of labour;]
The names reached 108, and the stipend at the beginning was to be ^I5C
with expenses. The Synod, however, in September 1808 decided againslj
the change ; but Liverpool people, believing that this was not a final aware
renewed their call, and on 25th April 1809 the transportation was agreed to^
and on ist June he was admitted to his new charge.
As Mr .Stewart will not come within our compass again, it may be stated
that soon after his removal to Liverpool the congregation there exchangee
their temporary meeting-place for a church they had built, with accommoda-
tion for 500. In 1827 they took possession of Mount Pleasant Church, with|
sittings for 1200, and built at a cost of ^6500. But before this position was
reached Mr Stewart, who had the degree of D.D. conferred upon him byj
Marischal College, Aberdeen, in 1813, had to bear the heat and burden ot
the day. For several years, in addition to preaching often thi-ee times on!j
Sabbath and once during the week, he conducted an academy — exertions!
which were enough to bring premature decline. In 1838 he obtained the
Rev. Hugh Crichton, Duntocher, for his colleague, and on 7th October li
he died, in the seventy-second year of his age and forty-second of hisi
ministry. A daughter of his was the wife and widow of the Rev. George!
Hill of Musselburgh. Two brothers of his were also ministers — the youngerj
of them being the Rev. David Stewart of Stirling (Erskine Church), and thel
other Dr Stewart, who was long minister of Erskine parish, of whom more]
is given under Langbank.
Mr Stewart left Pitcairn in a much improved state, so that in view of
calling another they were able to afford a stipend of ^iio, with manse andj
garden, and a piece of ground adjoining the meeting-house.
Second Minister. — William Willans, from Blackfriars, Jedburgh. The!
call was signed by 205 communicants. On this occasion also there were!
two calls besides — one from Kincardine and the other from Newcastleton-
but Pitcairn carried, and Mr Willans was ordained, 27th August 181 1. The!
congregation by this time had reached its maximum, and in a few years wej
meet with signs of decadence. At the Synod in September 181 7 theyj
applied for aid, their funds having suffered through the stoppage of thej
public works, and they were found fully entitled to a grant of ^20. Theyj
had undertaken a larger stipend than their altered circumstances warranted.
In this straitened state matters continued till 23rd May 1837, when Mr^
Willans resigned his charge. In keeping with a resolution of the congrega-
tion the demission was accepted, and had he not taken this step the easel
might have come before the Presbytery in another form. In September he,
came forward asking a testimonial of ministerial standing, as he intended toi
go abroad ; and when this was refused meanwhile, he appealed to the Synodal
with the result that the Presbytery were instructed to meet on the following |
week, and bring matters to an issue. Mr Willans had been avowing hisj
intention to prosecute his people for arrears of stipend, and also to "expose)
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 633
them through the Press"; but the Presbytery found that his claims were
baseless, though they earnestly advised the congregation to pay him ^20,
and bring the contention to an end.
Mr Willans after a pause of some months renewed his demand for a
ministerial certificate, and this led to the bringing forward of the root evil.
Two years after his ordination he married a daughter of the Rev. William
Elder of Newtown St Boswells, and at her death his servant had been lifted
out of her place. This had been the main ground of severance between him
and his congregation, and after removing to lodgings ih Perth he persisted
in keeping this woman about his house, "to the injury of his reputation."
He was now told by the Presbytery that when he brought this unworthy
state of matters to an end they would consider his demand for a testimonial,
but he declared he would not be dictated to on a matter with which they
had no concern. He had withdrawn, moreover, from attending public
worship, and he avowed that he had no intention of having fellowship with
the United Secession Church. The examination of witnesses disclosed a
grievous want of self-respect and indifference to the comfort of his family.
On 14th May 1839 he was suspended sine die from office and membership
"for conduct grossly imprudent and scandalous." After this, according to
Dr George Brown's manuscript History, Mr Willans went to .Australia, but
returned, and died at Newcastle in 1859. Had he attended more to the
proprieties of family life, and learnt to rule his own spirit, he might have had
a smoother descent into the vale of years.
Third Minister. — ANDREW Ross, from Regent Place, Glasgow. The
communicants were now put at 150. Mr Ross' acceptance was deferred for
a little owing to another call from Hexham, but he was ordained, loth July
1838. Of the families belonging to the church at this time about two-fifths
resided in Redgorton parish, and the other three-fifths in Methven and
Tibbermuir. In 1849 Mr Ross published a religious novel, entitled "Mina :
A Tale of the Days of Nero and the Early Christians." The recognition
this venture received may have matured his resolve to seek another sphere
of labour, and on 9th October 1850 his connection with Pitcairn came to an
end — and it was well for Mr Ross every way that he resolved on a change
of scene. On 5th September 1851 he was inducted to Portland, Victoria,
where he was successful, says Dr Hamilton, in maintaining a respectable
and influential congregation. But after a few years he became a great
sufferer from ophthalmia, and, being in danger of losing his sight, he re-
signed in 1856, and was never again able to resume ministerial work.
" After a long course of indifferent health, and an experience of trying
changes, he died at a good old age in Echuca in April 1883."
Fourth Afinister.— Robert Nelson, from Perth (North). Ordained,
24th June 185 1, having been also called to Newbigging. The stipend was
to be ^90, with house and garden. A debt of ^226 on the property had
been liquidated in 1845 — £1 16 being raised by the people and ^ 1 10 granted
by the Board. In 1859 Pitcairn began to share in the benefits of the Scheme
for the Better Support of the Gospel Ministry, the stipend being raised to
^120, of which the people contributed ^100. In 1879 Mr Nelson sustained
a heavy family stroke in the death of his son, Mr James Sidey Nelson (the
mother was a sister of the Rev. David Sidey, Napier, New Zealand), who
got licence as a preacher on 3rd June of that year, and after fulfilling a few
pulpit appointments died on 13th July at the age of twenty-three. In the
beginning of 1890 he retired from the active duties of the pastorate, and
in a few months the congregation called Mr James Brand Scott, who
accepted Saltcoats (West).
Fifth Minister.— ]OH-s ALEXANDER, M.A., from Birkenhead (Grange
634 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Road). Ordained, 8th January 1891. The membership at the close of
1899 was 132, being 16 higher than it was twenty-eight years before, andj
the stipend from the people was ^102, los., with the manse. Mr Nelson has]
for many years resided in Blairgowrie.
PITCAIRN-GREEN (Antiburgher)
The parish of Redgorton is one in which the Secession was long in getting]
more than a slender foothold. Beyond a reference to an elder from that]
locality the name is scarcely to be found in the early records of the North j
Church, Perth, and Kinclaven does not seem to have been indebted to itj
for a single family. This may have been largely owing to the fact that they]
had an evangelical minister in the Established Church. Accordingly, it is 1
stated in the Old Statistical History that towards the end of the century the]
various sects of Seceders, including also Relievers and Independents, did(
not number more than one-twentieth part of the population. But about 1
this time, when, owing to the uprise of public works in the district, sermon '
was obtained from the Burgher Presbytery of Perth, the Antiburgher element
kept apart. This led, in the course of six months, to the formation of two
rival churches within five minutes' walk of each other. It is with the latter]
of these in its unfortunate beginnings that we have now to deal. It was on
27th June 1797 that a petition from 62 members was laid before the session!
of the North Church, Perth, for transmission to the Presbytery, craving to ',
be erected into a congregation at Pitcairn-Green, a village about midway 1
between Perth and Methven, which are seven miles apart. The disjunction
carried by the Moderator's casting-vote, and the station was opened on thei
third Sabbath of July. At next meeting 50 members were disjoined from]
Methven and annexed to Pitcairn-Green, and the following year a church]
was built, with sittings for 300, and on 13th June 1798 five elders were,
ordained, and a sixth, who had held office in the North Church, Perth, waS'
to take his seat along with the others, an election being considered unneces-
sary. The ground on which the church was erected, including a glebe of j
an acre and a quarter, was secured for ninety-nine years at £2, 12s. a year.
Then came a call to Mr Thomas Beveridge, whom the Synod in April i799j
appointed to Kinross (East).
/^z'rs^ Minister. — John Brown, a young man who entered the Hall from '
Auchtermuchty (North), and whose behaviour when a probationer had come '
under the notice of the Synod. At their meeting in September 1799 the
committee of supplies suggested that this gentleman should be conversed
with, as he was reported to have been guilty of improper conduct at Auchter-
muchty, and, when brought to the point, he acknowledged "culpable im-
prudences." Stirling Presbytery, being enjoined to follow up like rumours,
found that " Mr Brown has got into a way of joining in drinking companies
with persons of low, and some of them of bad, character, and using great
freedoms among them." Having expressed contrition he was rebuked, and
let loose among the vacancies again, and on 25th June 1800 he was ordained .
to the pastoral oversight of Pitcairn-Green. Had Antiburgher strictness
done its part faithfully at the proper time, damage would have been spared
to a young and promising congregation. In less than two years the process
of retribution began. First came a complaint from the injured party that
Mr Brown, in the face of a seven years' courtship, was proclaimed for mar-
riage with another. Then, "late in a public-house" in Perth, and in a state
of intoxication at Comrie. The case being referred to the Synod he was
suspended, and handed back to the Presbytery of Perth. He now professed'
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 635
sorrow, and owned that the reports were true ; but by next meeting of
Presbytery the old evil had reappeared, and, to outward seeming, the case
was hopeless. The Minutes of Synod tell the rest : " Mr Brown, in the
most intemperate language, laid grievous charges against his congregation,"
and also heaped insults on the Synod and the members thereof. Deposition
carried unanimously on 8th September 1802, but it came years too late.
There are traces of Mr Brown making Perth his headquarters after this,
but nothing definite can be condescended on.
Second Minister. — William Beath, from the congregation of Leslie
(West), and from the parish of Ballingry, five miles off. The call was
signed by 48 (male) members, and was preferred by the Synod to another
from The Close, Newcastle. Ordained, ist November 1803, when the
assembly was so great, according to the Christian Magazine, that the
meeting-house could not have contained one-third of the people ; but the
weather was favourable, and the work was gone about in a field. The
stipend, it is stated in his Memoir, was never above ^80 ; but as he remained
unmarried, he had enough and to spare. After the Union of 1820 Mr
Beath, like Mr Gilfillan of Comrie, occupied middle ground for a time, but
on 9th July 1822 he appeared before the Presbytery of Perth, and expressed
his willingness to accede under certain reservations, which he got inserted
in the Minutes. He was also to be free to withdraw if the New Testimony
was unsatisfactory or was not speedily forthcoming. The conditions were
agreed to, his neighbour, the Rev. William Willans of Pitcairn, dissenting,
but on 23rd July 1823 Mr Beath intimated by letter "that for a time at least
he ceases to occupy his seat in the Presbytery, and has joined another
religious body." He was now a member of the Protestor Synod, and, so far
as appears, he took his entire congregation with him.
On Wednesday, 17th May 1827, the union of the Protestors with the
Constitutional Presbytery was consummated, and on the following Sabbath
Mr Beath occupied Professor Paxton's pulpit. " Having spoken for about
twenty minutes he paused, as if to recall his notes, and then went on again,
but not with ease or accuracy." It was an apoplectic stroke. He died the
following afternoon, in the fifty-fifth year of his age and twenty-fourth of his
ministry. A discourse of his, entitled "The Source, Character, and Result
of the Saviour's Sufiferings," appeared in a volume of sermons by ministers of
the Antiburgher Synod published in 1820.
On 2gth April 1829 Mr Andrew Lambie from Auchinleck was ordained
as Mr Beath's successor. In 1838 the communicants were above 120, and
the ordinary income was between ^70 and ^80 a year. In 1842 Mr Lambie,
led on by the Rev. James Wright of Edinburgh, declined the authority of
the Original Secession Synod, because "by their union with the Original
Burghers they had given up the Antiburgher profession." From this time,
and before it, the church in its isolated state made steady progress towards
extinction. In 1851 Mr Lambie published a second address which he had
delivered to his congregation, showing why he had withdrawn from com-
munion with the Rev. James Wright. Minister and congregation now stood
entirely alone. At what time the last spark went out it is hard to tell, but
in the end the church was sold, and taken down. I remember some thirty
years ago seeing the venerable man seated at a window in his humble manse,
bending over a book which my friend suggested was probably the Hebrew
Bible, his close companion. From about the year 1874 he ministered for a
few years in Forrest Road, Edinburgh, to a little party which had separated
from the ministry of Mr Wright, but owing to some dispute this connection
also came to an end. He died in Edinburgh, 23rd May 1886, in the eighty-
fourth year of his age.
636 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
KINCLAVEN AND THE NORTHERN DIVISION
KINCLAVEN (Antiburgher)
Of the four earliest centres of the Secession this was the least important.
First Minister. — James Fisher, son of the Rev. Thomas Fisher, minister^
at Rhynd. Ordained over the parish of Kinclaven, 23rd December 1725.
In the session records there is the following entry for 8th October 1732 :-
"Service this day by Mr Ebenezer Erskine, minister of the gospel at
Stirling," and on the following Tuesday he opened the memorable Synod at
Perth. When the motion to censure him for his discourse was carried, the|
Committee on Bills refused to transmit Mr Fisher's reasons of protest against
the sentence, alleging that he had wrought himself into the process, " not for
the vindication of truth, but on account of his connection with the delin-
quent." On 25th October 1736 the session of Kinclaven agreed unanimously!
to accede to the Associate Presbytery, twelve of the thirteen members beingj
present. Sentence of deposition was pronounced on Mr Fisher, as one of
the Eight Brethren, on 15th May 1740, and in less than a month he wasi
called to Glasgow. Moncrieff was bent against the translation, and inl
order to retain Mr Fisher at Kinclaven a proposal was made to widen hisj
field of labour. The Seceders in Strathearn petitioned to have him every]
third or fourth Sabbath, and that he should also give them diets of examina-
tion as his time and bodily strength would allow, and in that case they would!
concur according to their ability for his support. But though the decision]
was long delayed the Presbytery agreed on 22nd July 1741 to loose himj
from Kinclaven. On 13th August there was enforced surrender of the churcW
and manse, and, during the few Sabbaths between this and his induction at]
Glasgow, Mr Fisher, as appears from one of his note-books, preached in a]
tent at Kinclaven braeside, his wife and family having removed to Perth.
The following announcement, which appeared in the Caledonian Mercury\
some time after, may account for the delay which occurred in filling up thej
vacant living : — " We learn from Perth that Mr James Bishop, probationer, J
having lately received a presentation to the parish church of Kinclaven, he,
by appointment, went yesterday to preach in the said church, but that some
unruly people, mostly women, not only threatened him to give it up, butj
also, on his continuing to discourse, haled him out of the pulpit, and, '
dragging him out of the church door, cast him down on a gravestone." It]
was perilous work, but we read nothing of after pains and penalties.
When Mr Fisher left, there may have been doubts as to whether it would]
be practicable to keep up a Secession congregation at Kinclaven, but after j
beinyr meagrely supplied with sermon for a few years the people set about |
building a place of worship. A stone above one of the doorways bears the)
date 1744, and in the session minutes of Perth for i6th May 1745 there is aj
collection entered for Kinclaven : — "To assist to finish their church, ;^i5-"j
"The Kirk o' the Muir" still stands — the oldest in the denomination since]
Wilson Church, Perth, was taken down. It looks as if there had been!
disturbance while the work was going on, for 51 members acceded to Perth]
congregation from Kinclaven on 7th April 1745.
Second Minister. — Alexander Blyth, from Abemethy. His father
was one of Mr MoncriefiPs elders, and a sister became the wife of the Rev.
Patrick Buchanan, the first Secession minister at Nigg. The call was sub-_
scribed by 159 members. Mr Blyth was ordained, 25th November I747»'
and five days afterwards, when the session met, the seven elders present]
agreed unanimously to constitute in subordination to the Antiburgher SynodJ
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 637
though attachment to their former minister might have been expected to
sway them the other way. In December 1748, when steps were taken to
have an addition made to their number, the quahfications laid down were
these — (i) Full accession to the Testimony ; (2) The worship of God in their
families daily, morning and evening, in all the parts thereof; and (3) Members
of Praying Societies. The boundaries of the congregation and its numerical
strength in the early years of Mr Blyth's ministry can be ascertained from
the list of communicants in June 1751 : Kinclaven, 128-; Auchtergaven, 39 ;
Little Dunkeld, 39; Caputh, 15 ; Clunie, 12 ; and St Martin's, Collace, and
Cargill, 8 — making 241 in all. But in 1766 the membership stood at exactly
300, and in 1780 it had risen to 385, which may be taken -as its maximum
strength. The formation of congregations at Auchtergaven and Lethendy
encroached by-and-by on the old territories of Kinclaven.
The account-book kept by the session discloses the defectiveness of their
financial arrangements, the ordinary church-door collections averaging
between 2s. and 3s., and so late as the close of Mr Blyth's ministry they
were only about double that sum. Out of this fund the rent of ^i, los. for
the glebe was paid, and also sums for corn, straw, and specially coals. In
1759 they were engaged with the building of a manse, and for some time
quarterly collections of nearly 30s. were handed over to the managers " for
the use of the community." In 1762 a collection was asked from Perth
(North) "for enabling them to defray the charges of building a mansion-
house for their minister." The response was liberal, according to the standard
of the times, when weak congregations applied to them for aid. From these
records we also get back among sacramental arrangements in the olden
times. Thus, at the communion in the summer of 1758 two ministers
preached on the Fast day, and other two on Saturday. On Sabbath the
minister preached "before the Action," and five brethren were with him
during the day. The collections altogether amounted to nearly £6. Per
contra Kinclaven Church was closed seven Sabbaths, the minister assisting
his brother-in-law at Stirling in April ; at Kinkell in June ; at Abernethy and
Perth in July ; at Methven and Logiealmond in August ; and at Coupar-
Angus in October.
When a student Mr Blyth was appointed Presbytery Clerk, an office
which he held till his death, but of the records during that long period only
some fragments remain. Like Mr Brown of Perth, he married a daughter
of the Rev. John Heugh of Kingoldrum. The date of his death cannot be
ascertained with precision. His grandson, the Rev. Thomas Myles of
Aberlemno, gave it as May 1784, and his death was reported to the Synod
on the 4th of that month. He was in the sixty-fourth or sixty-fifth year of
his age and thirty-seventh of his ministry. The details of funeral expenses
borne by the congregation reveal a state of things which has happily passed
away, nearly ^5 having been expended on refreshments of a kind we have
learnt to dispense with. At this point we give an example of how in
families an extreme type of ecclesiastical character may be lost in the course
of two generations. In 1754 a warning was read from Kinclaven pulpit
" against countenancing the ministers of the Established Church in the
exercise of any part of their office." Over against this, place the ordination
of Mr Blyth's grandson as minister of the parish of Aberlemno the year after
the Disruption.*
In 1786 Kinclaven congregation gave a seemingly unanimous call to Mr
William Wilson, a preacher from Urr, of whom the Synod, in the beginning
* Mr Blyth's daughter, the widow of Mr James Myles, Perth, died in her son's
manse at Aberlemno, 7th January 1868, in her ninety-fourth year.
638 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of his theological course, asked the Presbytery to report how far he ought
to be encouraged as a student. On the day when his trials for ordination
were to be finished a letter from a majority of the elders was read bearing
that they were afraid Mr Wilson's settlement would rend the congregation.
The objections when inquired into related chiefly to imprudence, and it was
reported to the Presbytery that of the 179 male communicants only 79
adhered to the call. The shaping of specific charges and the examination
of witnesses came to little, Mr Wilson having denied that in his pulpit
utterances which had given offence he had any party in the congregation in
view. Accordingly, the Synod in September 1787 appointed the Presbytery
to proceed with his ordination. Now came a petition presented by the
managers, with 24 names, craving to be disjoined if the settlement were to be
gone on with, and also to be freed from all burdens as tacksmen of the
church and manse. At next meeting five of the six elders were dealt with
to fall from their opposition, but one by one they refused. Mr Wilson was
now heard, but we infer that he was determined to claim his rights. The
Presbytery by the Moderator's casting-vote appointed the ordination ; but
the case was carried to the Synod by protest, and there, owing to " the
continued flame in the congregation," the call was laid aside. Mr Wilson
was ordained at Clenanees, in Ireland, on 4th November 1789, and in 1800
his Presbytery reported to the Synod that they had deposed him from the
office of the holy ministry. The opposition party at Kinclaven may have
had the better cause after all.
Third Minister. — James Pringle, from Pathhead. When the modera-
tion was applied for it was stated that there was " the present appearance of
peace and harmony," but the embers of former dissensions woke up in a
remonstrance against sustaining the call. However, the Presbytery gave
Kinclaven the preference over Kinkell, and though an appeal was taken
against this decision it had only the effect of delaying the settlement for five
or six months. Mr Pringle was ordained, i6th June 1789, after a trying
vacancy of five years. It was thought by the Presbytery that matters had
righted themselves now, but human nature asserted itself anew. Three
elders who had taken the lead in opposing Mr Wilson consented to resume
their seats in the session, and this reopened old wounds. In these circum-
stances the three resigned office, and thus far the case took end. During
the long stretch of Mr Pringle's ministry harmony appears to have been
maintained in the church, and kindly relations between him and his people.
The communion roll must also have been well kept up, as the names of 238
members were appended to his successoi^'s call. He died, 4th February
1840, in the seventy-fifth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry. His
preaching, I have heard, was largely doctrinal. Justification by Faith being
a favourite theme. "Mr Pringle," said a newspaper notice, "was much
distinguished for the suavity of his manners, for diligence in the discharge
of his pastoral duties, and for the affectionate interest which he took in the
spiritual and temporal concerns of his flock." The Rev. John Craig, first of
Kinkell, and then of Brechin, was his son-in-law. The Rev. J. W. Pringle,
late of Jedburgh, is his grandson.
Two years before Mr Pringle's death there was a movement to have
sermon at Stanley, a growing place two miles to the south, from which
Kinclaven drew a large number of its families, and a larger proportion of its
money strength. Members in the village belonging to dissenting churches
amounted about that time to 153, and of these the great majority attended
at Kinclaven. From the session there, and also from Auchtergaven, opposi-
tion came, and at the time when a petition for regular supply was lying on
the Presbytery's table Mr Pringle died. The interests of Kinclaven con-
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 639
gregation had now to be considered. Accordingly, on 28th April 1840 the
petition from vStanley was dismissed, and the extinguisher put on.
Fourth Minister. — David Young, from Perth (Wilson Church). While
a probationer Mr Young was located for some time in Liverpool, if haply
he might revive Russell Street congregation, which was on the verge of
extinction. The people called him in March 1840 ; but at that very time he
was supplying at Kinclaven, where a far more inviting field opened, and
there he was ordained, 12th August 1840. "The day being fine," says the
magazine, "the whole service was conducted in the open air, a tent having
been erected for the purpose in the immediate neighbourhood of the church."
The stipend arranged for was ^100, with manse, garden, a large glebe, and
some other perquisites. On 13th September 1864 Mr Young, to the surprise
and regret of the Presbytery, tendered the resignation of his charge, assign-
ing as his reason a change of view on the subject of baptism. Mr Marshall
of Coupar-Angus, a close friend of his, had heard that Mr Young was
interesting himself in that question, but he never supposed it would come to
this. A long conference having ended as it began, Mr Young's connection
with Kinclaven was dissolved on 4th October, the Presbytery recording
*' their regret at thus losing a brother who has for twenty-four years laboured
with much zeal and acceptance in the service of the Church." After this
Mr Young resided in Glasgow, where he ministered to several Baptist
churches in succession. He removed in 1867 to Blairgowrie, where his
worth would be better understood, but in 1870 he had to desist from
preaching owing to a severe affection of the throat. On retiring he received
a presentation of over ^200 from the inhabitants of the town. He died in
Glasgow, 6th August 1885, in the eighty-first year of his age, and was buried
in New Cathcart Cemetery.
Fifth Minister. — John Brown, from Douglas. Ordained, 3rd October
1865. He had Buckie in his choice, but preferred Kinclaven. The con-
gregation had kept well up hitherto, as appears from the fact that 221
members signed Mr Brown's call. In the parish the Secession had always
continued strong, and so late as 1843 it could claim 96 families, while 86
belonged to the Establishment. But between 1851 and 1891 the population
declined from over 900 to little more than 500. It was fitted to suggest
whether the congregation ought not to have removed to Stanley at the time
sermon was applied for. That town was well churched now, and most
United Presbyterians settling down there, instead of undertaking the walk
of two miles, were certain to drop into nearer churches. Steady decline set
in, and the "Kirk o' the Muir," well filled as I remember it in 1852, has
yielded to the inevitable. The membership at the close of 1899 was 122, and
the stipend from the people £,\ 10.
SCONE (Burgher)
In August 1745 the parish of Scone fell vacant by the death of the Rev.
Thomas Schaw, an evangelical minister of high repute, and Viscount
Stormont did not exercise the right of presentation within the allotted six
months. It was now for the Presbytery to come in, and, as usual in such
cases, the people were allowed considerable latitude of selection. Mr
Lachlan Taylor was the popular candidate, his call being signed by seven
elders and 150 heads of families ; but the 30 heritors who took part were
equally divided, 15 of their number, with Lord Stormont at their head,
being in favour of Mr William Currie, son of the Rev. John Currie of
Kinglassie. On the Presbytery sustaining the call to Mr Taylor his Lord-
1
.
640
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ship and the others appealed to the General Assembly, and that Cour
reversed the decision of the Presbytery, and gave directions to proceec
anew. Both candidates were now set aside, and Mr Taylor became the
choice of Larbert and Dunipace soon after. On 25th February 1748 Mi_
David Craigie was ordained without opposition ; but, on 3rd March 56 of the
parishioners sent in a paper to the Burgher Presbytery of Perth and
Dunfermhne setting forth "their distressed situation through the intrusion
of one to be minister of that congregation contrary to their consent," and
Ralph Erskine was appointed to preach to them on the following Sabbath.
On 1 2th April a paper of like import, with other 67 names, was presented,
along with a suggestion that Mr Johnston of Dundee might have Scone
assigned him every third Sabbath, but the proposal passed out of notice.
It is understood that the first place of worship at Scone was finished and
taken possession of in the autumn of 1748.
The first they called was Mr Thomas Clark, who had acceded to the
Associate Presbytery in 1740. In 1743 he entered the Philosophy Class
at Abernethy, and in 1749 he became the choice of Scone congregation.
After his trials for ordination had been put off for a year and a half he
wrote the Presbytery " explicitly and in plain words giving up with the
call from Scone." On 23rd July 175 1 he was ordained at Ballybay, in
Ireland, and is described as the most distinguished of the early Secession
ministers in the sister island. Having endured many wrongs there, he
removed to America in 1764 with 300 of his people, where they formed the
well-known congregation of Salem. Mr Clark died suddenly of apoplexy
on 25th December 1792, about the age of seventy. " His tall and gaunt
figure," says one, " stands out prominently before us, as he rode rapidly
about from place to place through the country, with his Highland bonnet^
and his homely attire, the zeal of the Lord, eating him up."
The second call came out in July 1751 in favour of Mr James RobertsonJ
a preacher who had got licence along with John Brown. But when he
delivered an exercise for ordination the Presbytery " were all of opinioiJ
that they could not approve of it as evidence of his ability for the work of^
the ministry." The Synod, having heard the discourse, recommended that
each member of Presbytery take Mr Robertson to live with him for a montl
to get him instructed in systematic theology. Meanwhile Scone congrega'j
tion adhered to their call ; but after waiting a year they came up to the
Presbytery asking for a peremptory decision as to Mr Robertson's fitness
for a pastoral charge. He was now to be tested by another discourse, but;
he passed outside the bounds with the advice to give himself to the study
of divinity for the space of six months. Mr Robertson persevered, and ii
May 1759 he was ordained over the Burgher congregation of NewcastleJ
where he died, in the fortieth year of his age and ninth of his ministry]
His tombstone bears the inscription : " Here lies the body of the Rev. James
Robertson, late minister of the gospel in Sally Port Meeting-House, whc
departed this life, 23rd September 1767.
' Modest, yet resolute in virtue's cause,
Ambitious not of man's but God's applause,' " etc.
First Minister. — James Wylie, from Stow. He was about to be or-i
dained at Donagheloney, in Ireland, a year and a half before, when a more
inviting field opened for him at Kennoway, but the Synod in Septembei
1753 refused to allow this new call to intervene. Mr Wylie now go^
rebellious, and pleaded that the system of swearing upon the Bible and th^
paying of tithes to prelates debarred him from settling down in Ireland.!
In April 1754 he was censured, and enjoined to "more dutiful behaviour forJ
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 641
the future." At the September Synod he pleaded the state of his health, and,
with the consent of Donachclony congregation, was set free. In October he
was called to Liddesdale (now Newcastleton), and accepted ; but, Scone
congregation having intervened, the Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline
went straight on with his ordination, which took place, 2nd January 1755.
The stipend promised Mr Wylie when he went was only ^30, and this sum
they did not always manage to pay. In May 1773 the congregation repre-
sented to the Synod that they required to rebuild their meeting-house, and
sister congregations were recommended to aid them with collections ; but
the second church was not built for other sixteen years. In the beginning of
1784 it was intimated to the Presbytery that, on account of his infirmities,
Mr Wyhe required assistance in his pulpit work. The precise date of his
death cannot be given, but we find from the Presbytery Minutes that he
was alive on 3rd April 1785, and the parish register has the following
entry for the loth of that month :— " Mort-cloth to Mr Wylie, 3s. 6d." Of
the first minister of Scone there is Httle to be added beyond the fact that
he published a pamphlet in opposition to Pirie of Abernethy on Covenanting,
and in Dr Brown's Life of Fisher it is stated that he was a good Hebrew
scholar.
In April 1786 Scone congregation called Mr John Dick. The stipend
named was now ^50, with ^5 for a manse. Remembering that Mr Wylie
never had more than ^30, and that during his last illness there were arrears
to pay up, we are taken aback to find that the call was signed by 280
members. After Mr Dick had delivered part of his trials other calls came
in, and the Synod in September appointed him to Slateford. Mr Thomas
Aitchison was now their choice, and it was not the fault of the Church
Courts that disappointment followed. The case came before the Synod in
May 1788 by a protest of Mr Aitchison's against a deed of Presbytery
deciding to proceed with his ordination. His specific reason, I used to
hear, for refusing compliance was put into words at a meeting of Presbytery
at Milnathort, when he stated that he was likely by-and-by to get married,
and Scone stipend did not provide for such a contingency. The Synod in
September rebuked him, and dismissed the call. Before the end of the year
he was ordained over Kirkgate Church, Leith.
Second Minister. — JOHN Jamieson, from Dunbar. Ordained, i6th
March 1791, Scone having been preferred by the Synod to Kinghom.
Under pressure from the Presbytery the stipend was now raised to ^60,
with ^5 for a house. The ministry now commencing was to last within a
fortnight of sixty-two years. In the beginning of 181 5 Mr Jamieson was
called to St Nicholas' Lane, Aberdeen, where the stipend was ;^i5o ; but as
the Synod decided unanimously against the translation, we may feel certain
that this was in accordance with his own wishes. The church and manse
were at Old Scone, little more than a mile from Perth, till 1810, when, by
agreement with Lord Mansfield, the site was changed to the present village,
and new buildings erected. To aid in meeting the expense his Lordship
allowed the congregation ^620, besides the old materials : but in connection
with the new church and manse there was an outlay of ^1466. This in-
volved a deficit of fully ^800, one-fifth of which was met by subscription,
and the other four-fifths left to be cleared away from surplus funds. In 1838
the stipend was ^120, with house and garden, and ^8 for expenses. The
communicants were 418, of whom about one-sixth were from other parishes,
most of them from St Martin's and KinnouU. Mr Jamieson, who received
the degree of D.D. from Jefferson College, United States, in 1841, died, 5th
March 1853, in the eighty-sixth year of his age. Till within a few Sabbaths
of the end he discharged the entire duties of the pastorate. An incident
II. 2S
642 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
given in the Autobiography of Mr James Skinner, probationer, helps to
illustrate Dr Jamieson's effectiveness as a preacher. At the ordination of
Mr Milne at Edenshead Mr Mitchell of Comrie, who was to give the
ordination sermon, did not come forward, and the minister of Scone was
fixed on abruptly to take his place. On the following Sabbath one of the
people was overheard saying : " He's just like a man with plenty of cash
who has nothing to do but put his hand into his pocket, and out come the
yellow geordies."
Third Minister. — James Hill, from Lothian Road, Edinburgh, and a
native of Cramond parish. In the following month Mr Hill was also called
to Urr and to Sanquhar (South) ; but he kept by Scone, and was ordained
there, 4th January 1854. The stipend was as before — ^120, with manse and
garden. After going on in Scone for nine years Mr Hill demitted his
charge, with the view of removing to the other side of the world, and the
congregation, finding him unalterably fixed in his resolve, acquiesced, and
on 5th May 1863 the resignation was accepted. In New Zealand he held
four important charges in succession. On 7th April 1896 he retired from
active duty owing to declining health, and died, after a short illness, on the
last day of 1897, in the seventy-third year of his age and forty-fourth of his
ministry.
Fourth Minister. — JOHN M'Neil, from Partick (Newton Place). Or-
dained, 9th August 1864. The stipend at Scone in 1870 was ;^I35, and the
Board complained that a congregation of 322 members should require a
supplement of ^22, los. to reach the minimum then aimed at. In 1877
Mr M'Neil declined Mordaunt Street (now Dalmarnock Road), Glasgow,
but accepted a call to Busby on 15th January 1883.
Fifth Minister. — JOHN W. Slater, B.D., from Kirkwall. Called pre-
viously to Head Street, Beith, and ordained at Scone, 14th August 1883.
The stipend was to be ^180, with the manse, and it has been raised since
to ^190. The membership at the close of 1899 was 270.
LETHENDY (Antiburgher)
On 15th March 1785 the Antiburgher Presbytery of Perth received a petition
from 85 persons in and about Lethendy " setting forth that they had beer
for a long time in a desolate way through the gospel not being preachec
to them to their edification," and it was agreed to grant them some days
supply. Next came, five months afterwards, a request that the Presbyter
would appoint some of their number to converse with applicants for admis
sion to sealing ordinances. This was followed on 20th September by
petition from members of Kinclaven congregation on the north and eas
side of the river craving a disjunction, that they might join with the peopll
of Lethendy, "who are appearing for the Lord's cause and testimony!
This brought an accession of one elder and 25 members to the new caus^
and it was decided that henceforth the Tay should form the boundat
between the two congregations. In like manner, on i6th May 1786 sj^
members from the west part of Rattray congregation, and the same numl
from Coupar- Angus, were annexed to Lethendy. On 31st July four elde^
were ordained, and the elder from Kinclaven was appointed, at the reque|
of the congregation, to exercise his office along with the others.
First Minister. — Alexander Balfour, from Milnathort. Ordaine
31st July 1787, and this was the beginning of a ministry which extend*
over sixty years. The call was signed by 30 (male) members, and adherfl
to by 49 ordinary hearers, " who take seats, but are not yet in full con
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 643
munion." The place of worship, with 300 sittings, was finished before the
ordination took place, as the session Minute that day is dated " at the new
church of Lethendy." Two years later a new manse figures in the same
connection. In 1790 the membership was little over 100, and the population
of the parish was between 300 and 400. The stipend is nowhere given, but
it cannot have been large, as the collections, including from ^7 to ^9 at the
communion, averaged little more than ^30 a year. Much might turn on the
glebe of fifteen acres in the hands of a minister who had been familiar with
farming operations in his early days. Sister congregations were also help-
ful, Kinclaven in particular, and in 1796 they received fully ^30 in this
way. In 1799 Perth (North) sent them ^18, and in 1805, being in arrears
with stipend, they received a grant of ^50 from the Synod. Thus minister
and people moved on from year to year with slender resources, but adhering
faithfully to the good cause.
Mr Balfour was strongly conservative in his ecclesiastical leanings. He
held back in 1820 from the Union with the Burgher Synod, but acceded a
year later on being allowed an insertion in the Minutes, part of which runs
thus : "As I have come under very solemn vows, at ordination and at other
times, I claim the right of holding by these engagements, and of avowing
them in all relations and on every proper occasion." In 1824 he laid a
representation on the Presbytery's table respecting the Paraphrases,
departure from rigid adherence to the Psalms of David being a matter on
which many of the Antiburghers, both ministers and people, felt strongly.
In June 1840 the Synod dropped the question on covenanting from the
Formula, and when the Presbytery met at Kinclaven soon after to ordain
Mr Young, Mr Balfour gave in a paper in which " he requests the Presbytery
not to consider him as coinciding with the Synod in blotting out the fourth
■question of the Formula," though he join in the act of ordination. In 1844
Mr Balfour, being unable to attend, sent up a remonstrance to the Synod
against a former decision of theirs on the doctrine of the Atonement. Thus
did he move on in the old paths, performing ministerial work, with slight
interruptions, till the fourth Sabbath of January 1847, when he preached his
last sermon from the text : " They that were ready went in with him to the
marriage, and the door was shut." He died on 19th March, in the eighty-
fifth year of his age and sixtieth of his ministry. Of Mr Balfour's family, one
daughter was the mother of the Rev. James Anderson, D.D., of Forteviot
Parish Church. Residing in Blairgowrie, she adhered faithfully to the
Secession congregation in Rattray, though her husband belonged to the
Establishment. Another daughter was the wife of the Rev. James Mudie of
Stronsay.
Though the membership of Lethendy was little more than half what it
had once been, there was no thought of discontinuing when Mr Balfour died,
and within six months the people were prepared to go on for another
minister. They would provide a stipend of ^47, los., and the Home Board
was to allow an annual grant of ^25. There was also the glebe, valued at
;^25, and the entire feu was only one-fifth of that sum. It equalled in all
what the parish minister had up to 1806, when Lethendy and Kinloch were
united. The first they called was the Rev. John Bisset of Nairn, but unless
the element of health were involved a declinature was a foregone conclusion.
In April 1848 they called Mr David Young, who became minister of Chatton,
in Northumberland.*
Second Minister. — JOSEPH Hay, from Perth (North), a kinsman of his
* Mr Young was from St James' Place, Edinburgh. Ordained over the newly-
formed congregation of Chatton, 14th October 185 1, and died of influenza, 25th
February 1890, in the seventy-third year of his age and thirty-ninth of his ministry.
644
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
namesake, the Rev. Joseph Hay of Arbroath. For several years during his
student course Mr Hay was employed as a town missionary in Dunfermline,
and at the time of his ordination he was considerably over forty. Having pre- j
ferred Lethendy to Letham he was ordained there, 22nd March 1849. The
communion roll was down to 60 when his ministry began, and with a sparse
and declining population on every side there were no means of increase.
Even in Mr Balfour's time it was stated that there were only four or five
dissenting families in the united parish of Lethendy and Kinloch, and I infer
from the Minutes of session that the main portion of the congregation came
from the parish of Caputh and the district of Meikleour. But Mr Hay kept
on his course of quiet usefulness, and the membership was rather on the way
of increase till the time of his retiring, when there was a shrinking up to
between 40 and 50. In the beginning of 1877 Mr Hay applied to be
admitted on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund, but at this time he was
too weak to sign the schedule of application. The people arranged that he
should have the manse, garden, and glebe for the residue of his days, the
understanding being that he would have no successor. On 19th September
1882 he died, in the eightieth year of his age and thirty-fourth of his
ministry. " The Home Committee, having respect to the earnestness and
fidelity with which in former days Mr Hay had discharged the duties of his
ofifice," most cordially agreed to grant an additional half-year's payment of
his annuity to his widow and daughter.
Supply of ordinances was kept up for some time at Lethendy, there being
reluctance to have the candlestick removed out of its place, but the Presby-
tery found the people to be unanimously of opinion " that the circumstances
of the congregation and the state of the district did not warrant or require
the continuance of a settled ministry." Besides this, the ninety-nine years'
lease of the church property, including the glebe of fifteen acres, was to expire
at Whitsunday 1885. Accordingly, on Thursday, 28th May of that year, Mr
Brown of Kinclaven and Mr Russell of Blairgowrie conducted Fast day
services, and on Sabbath, the 31st, Dr Hutton of Paisley dispensed the com-
munion. This, it is entered, was done in a manner most appropriate and
solemn, the large audience present being visibly affected. All that remained
now was to have their financial affairs wound up. There were some £2,7 to
dispose of — money derived, it appears, from the sale of trees that grew on
the glebe. Of this sum, ^20 went to the Home Mission Fund, ^5 to the
minister's widow, ^5 to Mr Brown, who for eight years had acted as
moderator of session and been ever at their service, ^5 to their own
treasurer, and £2 to the poor of the congregation. On ist December 1885
the Presbytery arranged for the granting of disjunction certificates to the
remaining members, "the congregation of Lethendy having now ceased to
exist, from circumstances over which it had no control."
AUCHTERGAVEN (Antiburgher)
This congregation's origin we trace back to 15th August 1786, when a
petition was presented to the Antiburgher Presbytery of Perth from 56
persons residing in the parish of Auchtergaven. It set forth that they were
sensible of their want of pure gospel ordinances, and they judged it their duty
to make application to this Presbytery for supply of sermon. But a letter
from some Kinclaven people warned the Presbytery to be cautious, as
they believed the movement to be prompted by members of their congrega-
tion residing in that parish. Logiealmond was also on the alert, and had
commissioners forward to set forth the hurt they might sustain if the petition.
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 645
were granted. The Presbytery, however, appointed some days' supply. Kin-
claven had reason to intervene, there being only some three miles between
them and Auchtergaven, but Logiealmond, eight miles distant, might have
remained silent. It was from that side, however, that the strength of the
opposition came, though the question turned mainly on where the place of
worship was to be. For the first two years they met at Muirend, under the
shelter of a barn in winter and among the whins in summer ; but Mr Preston
of Logiealmond was unbendingly hostile to the fixing of their centre there,
and to appease him the Presbytery required them to seek a site farther east
by "three-quarters of a measured mile." After three months the people
pleaded for liberty to remain at Muirend, and permission was granted, only
Mr Preston's voice being lifted up in resistance.
On 26th June 1787 twenty-seven outsiders, being examined by members of
Presbytery and attested as to character, were admitted to Church fellowship,
and recognised as the nucleus of Auchtergaven congregation. Then an acre
of ground was secured for fifty-seven years at a rent of 25s. The building
of the meeting-house was begun, it is stated, on the last day of .September
1787, but the work was not finished till two winters had intervened. The cost
was about ^200, expenses being kept down by free cartage and such things.
There were accessions now from other churches. On 8th April 1788, with
the session's concurrence, 29 members were disjoined from Kinclaven and
annexed to Auchtergaven, the parish in which they resided. A year later
25 of the Logiealmond members belonging to the same parish petitioned the
Presbytery to the same effect. The session consented to disjoin 20 of the
applicants ; but the other 5 they refused to part with, on the ground that they
were not away at a sufficient remove, and the Presbytery agreed to have
it so. Among those disjoined at this time were the Fenwicks of Drumtochnie,
including the mother of Robert Nicoll, the poet. On 2nd April 1789 an
election of elders was proceeded with, the Praying Societies having been
recommended to meet and agree among themselves in fixing on one for
each quarter, and seven of the eight appeared at an interim meeting of
Presbytery at Perth, and were examined. We find that three of the seven
had come from Logiealmond, one had been received from outside, and
the remaining three were presumably from Kinclaven. One name occurs in
this connection, that of John Fenwick, known long afterwards as "elder
John," a respectable farmer of the old school, and described as the patriarch
of Auchtergaven. He survived to the venerable age of ninety-two, in the
enjoyment of nearly uninterrupted health, and with the full possession of his
mental faculties. Robert Nicoll, his grandson, has commemorated his
merits in the verses entitled " My Grandfather," and also his functions "in
the muirland kirk," his daily fireside worship, his prayers so prophet-like, a
man whose " marrow," take him all in all, he had never met with either
among rich or poor. Such men were the strength and ornament of early
Secession times.
A session being now formed, the way was opened for calling a minister,
but they had to satisfy the Presbytery that they would be able to give him a
stipend of ^50 a year, with a house and "a competent glebe." Mr Samuel
GilfiUan was their first chbice, but the Synod in May 1790 appointed him to
Comrie. The call was signed by yj male members and adhered to by 52
ordinary hearers. Three years of hope deferred followed.
First Mims/er.—AhKXA'SDKii. HovvisON, who had been ordained at
Howford thirteen years before, but was loosed by the Synod in May 1792.
Inducted to Auchtergaven, 23rd April 1793. He died, i6th August 1805, in
the fifty-third year of his age and twenty-sixth of his ministry The Christian
Magazine testified that Mr Howison was "a modest, pleasant, and evangelical
646 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
preacher, and attentive to the duties of his office." During his ministry
Auchtergaven congregation prospered so much that at his successor's ordina-
tion the membership amounted to 186.
Second M mister. — James Thomson, from the parish of Wamphray and
the congregation of Lockerbie. Ordained, 22nd October 1806. He made a
fair beginning, 21 members being added at the July communion. But
adverse times set in, as the leases of small holdings expired, and at Whit-
sunday 1809 the communion roll sustained a loss of 32 at a stroke. The
process went on till the total membership was scarcely more than 140, and
in the midst of discouragements Mr Thomson turned in the direction of
America. In October 181 5 the Presbytery of Perth brought before the Synod
Mr Thomson's demission of his charge, and the advice given them was " to
loose his relation to the congregation of Auchtergaven at their first meeting,
and to deal with them to advance him a half-year's stipend." In May 1816
he was appointed to Miramichi, New Brunswick, from which an application
for a minister had recently arrived. He was inducted to the pastorate there
in August 1817, and died on nth October 1830, in the fifty-first year of his
age and twenty-fourth of his ministry. Dr James Robertson in his History
of the Mission to Nova Scotia says of Mr Thomson that he was " indefatig-
able in his labours, affable and kind in his manners, and universally
respected."
Third Minister. — James Paterson, from Mr Allan's church, Coupar-
Angus. Along with the call to Auchtergaven another from Kirriemuir came
before the Synod in May 1818, and they agreed to hear Mr Paterson as to
his preferences, but he declined expressing himself Auchtergaven carried,
but the Synod enjoined the Presbytery to see that the congregation came up
to the minimum stipend, which meant ^80 and a house. Ordained, 26th
August 1818, after a vacancy of three years. In 1823 it was resolved to
remove the church from Muirend to Bankfoot, a village which had recently
become the centre of population for Auchtergaven parish. The proposal
produced irritation, and "a considerable minority either opposed the
measure or did not actively support it." The advantages the change would
bring were manifest, but on such occasions disapproval is a convenient pre-
text for refusing to contribute. The new church, with 400 sittings, was
opened in February 1824. On i6th December 1834 Mr Paterson demitted
his charge, and a letter from the Synod's Committee on Foreign Missions
informed the Presbytery that he was going to Jamaica. Auchtergaven
people were very earnest to retain him, and Mr Paterson on his part testified j
that, though they had never been able to do so much as they wished, they I
had creditably exerted themselves for his comfort. Among members of]
Presbytery there was a wish expressed to retain Mr Paterson in his home]
charge; but the claims of the heathen carried, and his connection with!
Auchtergaven was dissolved. The congregation before he left presented]
him with an address, in which they made mention of his bearing as a member!
of society, "setting such an example of ardent piety, Christian benevolence,!
and extensive charity as commanded the greatest respect and esteem froml
the whole country round." Mr Paterson's field of labour in Jamaica was!
New Broughton, where he was devoted and successful ; but his life came toi
a sudden and distressing termination. Driving to a meeting of Presbytery]
on 23rd January 1843 h^ '^^'=> thrown from his gig, and killed on the spot..
In Dr M'Kelvie's Annals it is stated that he was in the forty-fifth year of hisj
age and twenty-fifth of his ministry, but the parish register shows that hej
was verging on fifty-one. In 1821 Mr Paterson married the only daughter!
of the Rev. John Robson of Cupar-Fife, but she died some years before heJ
left Auchtergaven. One of their daughters was the wife of the Rev. W.,
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 647
Paxton Young of Mount Zion, Jamaica, and is now the widow of the Rev.
John Campbell of Lucea, Jamaica, of whom there are particulars on page
657.
Fourth Minister. — William Bayne, from Dunblane, Second (now
extinct). Ordained, 22nd November 1836. The call was signed by 93
members, and the stipend was to be ^^70, with house and garden.
Next year they proceeded with the building of a new manse, which left them
with a debt of ^170 ; but this was liquidated in 1840, the Board allowing ^80.
The membership was now about 150, and twelve years afterwards it was
only 114, but in 1853, when the Relief congregation was dissolved, increase
began till in 1858 there were 138 names on the communion roll. Mr Bayne
died, 1 2th November 1864, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and twenty-
eighth of his ministry.
Fifth Minister.— M.XTTH'Ey^ HowiESON, from Limekilns, where he con-
ducted a school for many years, and was also in the eldership. As his day
was well advanced when he entered St Andrews University the Synod
stretched a point in his favour, and he was admitted to the Theological
Hall between his second and third years at college. Ordained, 4th July
1865, when he was in his forty-second year. Then began a course of quiet,
unostentatious usefulness. The stipend from the people was to be £7$,
with the manse, and a supplement of ^35. In 1870 these figures were
raised to ^90 and ^60 respectively, and two years later the congregation
readily agreed to give ^100, that the minimum of ^157, los. might be
reached. In 1882, as the building showed signs of giving way, it was agreed
with great cordiality to have another erected in its place, and, though few
in number, the people subscribed upwards of ^^300. Where liberality was
concerned the minister was sure to take the lead and stimulate by his
example. The estimated cost was between ;^700 and ^800, and by the aid
of a grant from the Church Building Fund and the assistance of friends
the new place of worship was opened virtually free of debt. Mr Howieson
died suddenly, 29th May 1886, in the sixty-third year of his age and twenty-
first of his ministry. The writer calculated on being with him on an early
Sabbath, but instead of assisting at his communion he had the text sug-
gested for a discourse nearer home : " There was silence, and I heard
a voice." Great was Mr Howieson's respect for his old minister, Dr Johnston
of Limekilns, and all unconsciously he caught up the Doctor's manner in the
pulpit, and the very inflections of his voice.
Sixth Minister.— RoBEif.r BROWN, B.D., son of the Rev. Robert Brown,
Markinch. Ordained, i ith January 1887. The people were to raise ^^95 of
stipend, and to that sum they still adhere. The membership at the end of
1899 was close on 100.
AUCHTERGAVEN (Relief)
This congregation originated in opposition to the settlement of Mr Thomas
Nelson as minister of the parish of Auchtergaven in 1831. He had been a
licentiate of the Church since 1810 ; but in 1822 he published "A Historical
Account of the Visit of George IV. to Scotland," in which he did ample
justice to his sovereign's merits, commemorating the people's " demonstra-
tion of affection to his sacred person," and telling how he displayed ever
and again " an affability and grace peculiarly his own." Promotion followed
in the shape of a Crown presentation to Little Dunkeld in 1824; but Mr
Nelson's settlement was successfully resisted, on the plea that he was un-
acquainted with the Gaelic language. The Crown now assigned him
.L.
648 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Muckart, to be assistant and successor, but the people being hostile the old
minister refused his sanction, and here also the door was closed. In 1830
Auchtergaven got the benefit, but an evasion was thereupon attempted of]
a very remarkable kind. The parish was not technically vacant, but the
minister, the Rev. William Chalmers, had been laid aside for twenty years
owing to mental derangement, the work being carried on by ordained
assistants. The people now petitioned the Presbytery to have Mr Chalmers
restored to them, and he was willing to concur in this arrangement. At the
General Assembly it came out that the worthy man was seventy-six years of -
age, and the minister of Rattray, in whose parish he resided, testified that he
was unfit for ministerial duty. Mr Chalmers not being available even for
a stop-gap, the Presbytery were enjoined to proceed with the settlement of i
the Crown presentee.
On 2ist July 1831, when the Presbytery of Dunkeld met at Auchtergaven
for the ordination of Mr Nelson, they were confronted with a libel in which
the presentee was accused of gross error in doctrine. In a published
catechism he had "deliberately put forth the statement that miracles were
events strictly natural," and in certain of his discourses he had also taught
error on the divinity of Christ. But the proceedings went on, and when the
ase came before the Assembly, the conduct of the Presbytery was approved
of and the ordination sustained. It was explained that Mr Nelson in a new
edition of the Catechism had cancelled the expressions about miracles, and
that the Presbytery observed nothing heretical in the discourse complained
of when it was delivered before them. The opposing party now sought
redress in another way. For a time they seem to have been uncertain what
denomination to join, but on 26th June 1832 the Relief Presbytery of Perth
were happy to learn that they had unanimously decided to place themselves
under their inspection. According to Dr George Brown the church was
bought from the Independents in November 1832, which probably means
the transference of recent building operations from the one name to the
other. On the third Sabbath of June 1833 the congregation had the
Lord's Supper dispensed among them ; but they had no session as yet, and
we are in the dark as to how the communion roll was made up.
There had been an attempt to form a Relief congregation in that district
forty years before. On 22nd August 1791 a petition from upwards of 80 people
in Little Dunkeld and Auchtergaven was presented to the Relief Presbytery
of Perth to be recognised as "the forming Relief congregation at Slogan-
hole." They were at once received, and sermon appointed for two Sabbaths.
After ten months preachers were to be sent to Sloganhole for four Sabbaths ;
but this arrangement was cancelled, and two of their own number were to
preach there a Sabbath each instead. The name comes up no more, and
the place itself, which was near Murthly, has passed out of existence. What
induced this short-lived movement, there is nothing to explain ; but, as a
remnant of what had been, Auchtergaven is credited in the Old Statistical
History three years later with having 10 families belonging to the Relief
connection.
First Minister. — William Ritchie, from Ayr (Cathcart Street). Or-
dained on a unanimous call, 23rd July 1834, the managers obliging them-
selves to give him ^90 a year, with house and garden. The planting down
of another dissenting church in the village of Bankfoot may have brought
the claims of Jamaica closer to Mr Paterson, the Secession minister, and
decided him to leave for that distant field of labour. But Mr Ritchie had
preached to the Relief congregation of Berwick-on-Tweed in the previous
December, " and secured not only their esteem but their affection." The
pulpit not being vacant as yet, they could do nothing ; but exactly four weeks
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 649
after his ordination they came forward with a call signed by upwards of 430
members, and the promise of a stipend of j^i6o, but as there was a non-
concurring minority of over 100, Mr Ritchie wrote them that he would
not accept. Understanding soon after that he had changed his mind,
Bei-wick people called him a second time, and by a larger majority than
before.
Perth Presbytery now strained the Rules of Procedure in the interests of
Auchtergaven Church. On 25th November, when a commissioner from
Kelso Presbytery appeared to prosecute the call, they refused to hear him
because he had no written attestation with him. He returned on 30th
December with the missing link supplied, and tabled the call from Berwick.
On 27th January 1835 ^^ appeared a third time, but, not having his com-
mission renewed, he was only allowed to speak ex gratia. The representatives
from Auchtergaven were up in full force, and parties being heard, by a
vote unprecedented in the Relief since i "]"]"]., when the Synod forbade the
removal of the Rev. Thomas Bell from Jedburgh to Glasgow, the Presby-
tery decided not to translate. On 31st March the Kelso commissioner
had reasons of protest and appeal tabled, but the Presbytery refused even
to have them read. Mr Ritchie himself now stepped in with a protest, and
got the case brought before the supreme court. The Synod found that
the Presbytery had erred in the course followed, and they instructed them
to meet that evening to give Mr Ritchie an opportunity of accepting or
rejecting the Berwick call, and acceptance followed as a matter of course.
The commissioners from Auchtergaven now craved payment of the e.xpenses
incurred through Mr Ritchie's ordination. No adjustment being arrived
at, Mr Ritchie " engaged in the presence of the Synod to see the expenses
repaid to the church of Auchtergaven," and the Presbytery on 14th May
1835 reheved him of his charge.
Within a few months Auchtergaven congregation called Mr Robert
Frew, but a fortnight later St Ninians made the same selection, and was
preferred. But matters were not yet put to rights between them and their
former minister. The sum claimed in name of ordination expenses and
other things, amounting to ^31, 13s., was promptly handed in to the Presby-
tery, but after some correspondence a letter was received from Mr Ritchie
"stating his determination not to settle the Auchtergaven account." He
might plead that the pledge he gave did not bind him to see every item
paid which people out of temper might put down under the head of expenses.
The case bade fair to come before the Synod again, but as we hear no more
of it we may presume that Auchtergaven congregation and Perth Presbytery
carried their point.
Second Minister. — THOMAS SOMERVILLE, from Hutch esontown,
Glasgow. Ordained, 14th September 1836. Towards the close of 1840
Mr Somerville was called to Aberdeen (now St Paul's) to be junior
minister, and on a vacancy occurring there five years later the offer was
renewed, but on both occasions he remained at Auchtergaven. Four years
afterwards Largo presented to him what was described as " the most numer-
ously signed call that had proceeded from the congregation." Prospects were
said to be encouraging, and at Largo he would be free at least from the
drawback of having another U.P. church to struggle against. On 8th April
185 1 the call was accepted, Mr Somerville stating that, though he had
lived harmoniously and affectionately with his flock, he now felt that, under
the circumstances, he must leave them.
The commissioners from Auchtergaven asked for sermon, which was
granted, though in the Presbytery the general feeling would be against
the continued existence of two congregations in Bankfoot. But matters
650 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
moved quietly on, and that summer there was a stir in favour of calling-
Mr William Drummond, afterwards of Whitehaven. The membership at
this time was only about 100, having fallen off greatly during the latter years
of Mr Somerville's ministry, owing to removals from the district ; but
the stipend of ^90, with house and garden, was kept up to the close. In
June 1852 the financial difficulties of the congregation were laid before the
Presbytery, and a committee with a fair infusion of the Relief element was
appointed to confer with the people, the result being that, though numbers
were dropping away, sermon was to be kept up among them some time
longer. On igth April 1853 a petition from the congregation bore that they
were no longer able to pay for supply of preaching, and they did not incline
to burden others with that duty. The Presbytery having devolved the
responsibility over on the Synod some attempt was made by their advice
to persuade the people to unite with the other congregation ; but the
disintegrating process was over, and the membership had dispersed. Some
two dozen of their number placed themselves under Mr Bayne's ministry,
and the others went back almost in a body to the church from which they
or their fathers had separated twenty-two years before. The deserted
building was disposed of, and turned into a factory. The debt on the church
had been cleared off under Mr Somerville, and the proceeds of the sale
sufficed to meet the remaining burdens.
BALBEGGIE (Antiburgher)
On i6th May 1786 the Antiburgher Presbytery of Perth had a petition for
sermon laid before them "subscribed by 14 persons belonging to the
Estabhshed Church in the parishes of Cargill and St Martin's," and ai
beginning was to be made on Sabbath first by the Rev. John Wilson of)
Methven. In Dr M'Kelvie's Annals the congregation is said to have)
originated in a sermon preached by Mr Wilson when baptising children toj
members of his congregation residing in that district ; but St Martin's and (
Cargill were outside the bounds of Methven congregation altogether, besides
having the Tay between. That summer sermon was kept up at a place called |
Craigmakenan about once a month ; but on 12th December the centre was]
changed to Melginch at the people's request, and on 21st June 1788 they]
obtained liberty to build their meeting-house at Balbeggie. This villagej
is four and a half miles north-east of Perth, and Melginch is fully a mile I
farther on, while Craigmakenan is three miles north-west of Balbeggie. Alt]
three are now in the parish of St Martin's. Towards the end of 1789 the j
little company received ^10 from Perth session, apparently to aid them in
erecting their church. At this time an attempt was made to form a Burgher!
congregation in the same locality. On 4th August 1789 the rival Presbyteryl
received a petition for sermon from St Martin's and Collace, and at nextj
meeting it was agreed to grant them preaching as frequently as possible.f
During winter there was a blank, but in spring the attempt was renewedJ
and in June a member of Presbytery was appointed to preach at St Martin's!
and meet with the people, but the name never comes up in the minutes|
again.
The Antiburghers being left in possession of the ground, steps were
taken in 1791 to have a congregation organised. On 4th January of that|
year 6 families and 2 male members were disjoined from the North Churcl
Perth, and on ist March they were erected "into a congregation by them-
selves, under the name of the Associate congregation of Balbeggie." Theil
number was increased on 3rd September 1792 by the addition of 5 men anc'
PRESBYTERY OF PERTH 651
5 women from Coupar-Angus, and around this double nucleus a goodly-
membership was to be gradually gathered, and assimilated to Secession
requirements.
First Minister. — John Kirk, from the parish of Glendevon and the
congregation of Muckart. Ordained, loth May 1796, which was nearly
ten years after sermon was first obtained. In May w.e find them petitioning
the mother church for assistance in building a manse, and three months
later some of their number represented to Perth session that the members
in their quarter were willing to be annexed to Balbeggie. The paper was
transmitted to the Presbytery, and to a certainty the transference would be
agreed to, the gain to Balbeggie being tenfold more than the loss to Perth.
Thus matters progressed till September 1802, when the first token of coming
troubles appeared in an application to the session for certificates from a
family consisting of father, mother, son, and daughter. This was followed up
before the Presbytery by a paper of complaint against the minister in the
daughter's name alleging something like breach of promise. It was pleaded
in explanation that the engagement was to be cancelled if it proved dis-
tasteful to the congregation, and that on this ground it had been broken off
years before. Owing to heat of temper on his part, and the throwing out
of unworthy aspersions, it was thought proper to suspend Mr Kirk from
office ; but he came forward with expressions of regret, and the Presbytery
agreed to Rebuke and Restore. But the complainers were irreconcilable, and
the congregation took different sides on the merits of the quarrel. On 4th
January 1803 Mr Kirk tabled his resignation, and on ist February two peti-
tions were brought before the Presbytery through Balbeggie session, the
one from four elders and 7 members asking to be disjoined, the other
from three elders and 16 members asking that the resignation be not
accepted. In these circumstances Mr Kirk adhered to the demission of
his charge, which the Presbytery agreed to accept, although not unanimously.
He then returned to the probationer list, and was called in the following
year to Wick, but persistently refused acceptance. In 18 10 he was offered
Sanday, in Orkney, but owing to some unpleasant surmises the call came
to nothing. He afterwards settled down as a farmer at Kaimknow, in Glen-
devon, where his father had been before him. His connection with Muckart,
his native congregation, was kept up to the end, and he very regularly took
part in the communion services there. He seems to have been much
respected there all through. He died, 8th March 1848.
The next notice of Balbeggie occurs in the Minutes of the Provincial
Synod of Perth in October 1804, when a call they had given to Mr William
Scott was set aside in favour of another from Leslie.
Second Minister. — David Wilson, from Leith (now St Andrew's Place).
After accepting Balbeggie he was called to Muckart, a far more important
place, but the Synod decided against its claims. From a journal kept by
Mr Wilson's mother I am able to outline what followed. " David," she said,
"for some time desisted from meeting with the Presbytery, and sent in his
reasons for not complying with the deed of Synod." At last he agreed
to appear before them, when he was gained over, and consented to be
taken on trials for ordination. This grieved and perplexed his father,
who, foreseeing the possibility of his son being fixed down in a place like
Balbeggie, had "insisted against his coming forward to the ministry under
the inspection of the Associate Synod." So strongly did the worthy man
feel on the matter that, after the day was fixed, he went over to Perth to
persuade his son not to submit. But, though hesitating as to present duty,
David "observed to his father that if he insisted in his opposition, especially
considering the length matters had gone, he would in all times afterwards
652
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
be under the singular reproach of contumacious obstinacy." It might alsc
be hke " crushing in the bud a congregation of whom there was such higl
expectation entertained." These arguments had great weight with his
father, and the mother states that, with his consent, she went over tc
Balbeggie, and witnessed the ordination.* This was on 24th October 1805.
Mr Wilson was considered a preacher of more than average ability, but
he may have been scarcely adapted to the sphere of labour assigned him.
During his ministry of sixteen years at Balbeggie there was little progress^
made, and on 19th June 1821 he demitted his charge. The people peti-
tioned to have him continued as their minister ; but there had been disaffec-
tion among them, arising, probably, from money difificulties, and the
resignation was accepted. It said much for his acceptability that soon
after he was thought of for the neighbouring congregation of Coupar-
Angus. In 1826 he was inducted into Clerk's Lane, Kilmarnock, a church
identified with the Rev. James Morison and the Atonement Controversy.
A call from Balbeggie was one of seven to Mr James Whyte at the Synod
in April 1822 ; but the array of names on it was the smallest of all,
only 30 (male) members, and when the vote was taken Balbeggie was nowhere.
Third Mittister. — James Brown, from Milnathort. Ordained, 5th
October 1825. The membership at this time was only about 100, and the
stipend was ^75, with house, garden, three acres of ground, and sacra-
mental expenses. Under Mr Brown's ministry there was steady growth.
In 1838 the communicants numbered 250, and were increasing at an
average of 10 annually. Six years before this the old church, which had
become too strait for thern, was superseded by another, with sittings for
440, and built at a cost of ^500. Mr Brown was a duly qualified medical
practitioner, and, " his attendance and prescriptions being entirely gratuitous,
apphcations were numerous, not only ifrom his own congregation but from
the whole district of country around." Combined with his readiness to be
helpful, there is mention made of his bright and happy disposition, so that,
as his father-in-law, the Rev. Dr Hay of Kinross, expressed it, "never,
perhaps, was there 'a man more loved and esteemed by all classes and all
religious denominations." Amidst labours so abundant Mr Brown's health
failed, and he died at Kinross, 21st February 1846, in the fifty-fifth year of
his age and twenty-first of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — Alexander Pettigrew, from East Campbell Street,
Glasgow (now Sydney Place). Ordained, 15th July 1847. The call was
signed by 145 members, and preferred to another from Comrie. The
stipend was to be ^100, with manse, garden, and sacramental expenses.
Mr Pettigrew laboured on amidst the discouragements incident to so many
country charges until 24th July 1877, when he retired from the active,
duties of the pastorate. The Presbytery minuted their appreciation of "his
great generosity in giving up his whole stipend, as also the manse, to
facilitate the settlement of a colleague." The congregation soon after calle^i
Mr Alexander A. Robertson, who preferred Campbelltown, Inverness-I
shire.
Fifth Minister. — Robert M'Master, M.A., from Girvan, who had
previously declined Stornoway and Portree. Ordained, 15th October i878,j
The membership was 108, and the stipend was to be ^105 from the con-
gregation, with manse and garden, the Home Board allowing ^55. The
senior minister was now residing in Perth, where he died, 9th June o4
the following year. He had returned that day from a brief sojourn af
* Mrs Wilson was brought up under the ministry of Adam Gib, and her journa
shows her to have been a woman of good understanding, high religious character
and a staunch Antiburgher besides.
PRESBYTERY OF SHETLAND 653
Gourock somewhat ailing, but with nothing to alarm. Having laid him-
self down to sleep he gave a sudden cry, breathed his wife's name, and
all was over. He was to report to the Presbytery next day the result of
a moderation in Wilson Church, but it devolved on his colleague to an-
nounce instead that the great silence had come on. During the twenty-
one years of Mr M'Master's ministry the decrease has been very slight,
the membership at the close of 1899 being 99, and ^105 being still main-
tained.
PRESBYTERY OF SHETLAND
LERWICK (United Secession)
At their meeting in May 1836 the attention of the United Secession Synod
was drawn to the wants of Shetland by a petition from the island of Yell.
The matter having been remitted to Orkney Presbytery, these regions were
visited before winter by Mr Paterson of Kirkwall and Mr David Scott,
preacher, who reported favourably as to the prospects of mission operations
there. In the following summer the Rev. William Johnston of Limekilns
conducted Sabbath services at Lerwick for two months, besides extending
his evangelistic work to other parts of the mainland, and he was succeeded
by the Rev. William France of Paisley. The result was that on 23rd August
1837 Orkney Presbytery received a petition from 41 persons in Lerwick for
continuance of sermon. After this supply was kept up with as much
regularity as distance, infrequent sailings, and stormy weather permitted. In
August 1838 Mr Paterson announced that, as appointed by the Synod, he had
gone a second time to Lerwick, when he examined 55 applicants for Church
privileges, and on 7th November he further stated that 54 persons had been
formed into a congregation. A further advance was made when Mr Buchan
of Holm opened the new church about midsummer of 1839, with sittings for
500. There was now the wish to have a minister of their own ; but the
people could not undertake to raise more than ^55 a year for his support,
and, unless the Mission Board agreed to a grant of a similar sum, the
Presbytery could not go forward. The difficulty was got over by a letter
from Mr Johnston of Limekilns with the welcome intelligence that the con-
gregation in Dalkeith, of which his relative, the Rev. Joseph Brown, was
rninister, had agreed to aid Lerwick at the rate of ;^5o a year. The modera-
tion was now granted in the hope that the people would make up the entire
sum to .^iio.
First Minister.— Vkt-ek M'Guffie, who had been ordained at South
Ronaldshay in 1830. Mr M'Guffie, who had been appointed to preside at
the moderation, returned from Lerwick with a call addressed to himself
signed by 28 members and 50 adherents. He had obtained a majority over
Mr Andrew Reid, preacher, afterwards of Lossiemouth, who had been in
location there for five months. The call was declined in July 1840, want
of unanimity, perhaps, standing in the way ; but when it was renewed a year
later without a division, and with the signatures of members more than
doubled, he accepted, and the induction took place, 9th August 1841. In
the report submitted to the Synod in May next the communicants were
entered at 80, there having been 28 additions during the nine months. At
the afternoon service there was an attendance of 300 and in the evening
about 450, while the forenoon was devoted to Sabbath-school work, at
which the full muster reached 250. But there was a falling oflF when the
654 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
novelty wore past, the membership remaining at the same figure year after
year, and the attendance sometimes giving a much lower average than the
above. It was fortunate, at least, that the feeble energies of the congrega-|
tion were not fettered by debt, the £yo that remained on the property being'
cleared off in 1845 under the stimulus of a grant from the Liquidation
Board of ;^25. In March 1849 the Presbytery of Orkney received a com-
munication from Lerwick bearing upon the ill-health of the minister and
the declining state of the congregation. Inquiry was to be made ; but Mr
M'Gufifie died on i8th July, in the forty-third year of his age and nineteenth
of his ministry, leaving a widow and four young children unprovided for.
The Orkney brethren combined to raise subscriptions for their behoof, and
no doubt a goodly response would be made to the appeal, with Kirkwall
congregation leading the way.
Second Minister. — Andrew M'Farlane, from Irvine (Relief). Or-
dained, 30th June 1 85 1. The call was signed by 48 members and 59
adherents. The stipend from the people continued at ^60, and the
supplement of ^50 was to come from the Mission Fund and not from
Dalkeith congregation. During the n^xt ten years the only change to
be recorded is the transference of Lerwick congregation and the Shetland
stations to the care of Edinburgh Presbytery. For some time Mr M'Farlane
seems to have been restive under the jurisdiction of Orkney, and as that
Presbytery favoured the severance the Synod consented to an arrangement
which involved extra inconvenience to all parties. Year after year the work
went on at Lerwick much as aforetime ; but in 1879 the membership re-
mained at 80, and the funds of the congregation only yielded ^50 of the
stipend. In 1867 the building of a manse was compassed at a cost of ^830,
the Board contributing ^430, and the people, largely by outside aid, raising
;^400. In the beginning of 1882 Mr M'Farlane wrote the Presbytery of
Edinburgh expressing his wish to retire from active duty on account of
advancing years, and the election of a colleague was sanctioned, on the
understanding that the acting minister would have ^50 from the congrega-
tion, with the manse, and ^^90 of supplement — Mr M'Farlane to receive ^20
over against the manse, which he was to vacate, and to be admitted an
annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund.
Third Minister. — John Willcock, B.D., from Mount Pleasant, Liver-
pool. Ordained, 6th December 1882. The call had some opposers, and
perhaps owing to feeling stirred at this time the senior minister removed
to Glasgow, where he died, 29th August 1886, in the seventy-first year of
his age and thirty-sixth of his ministry. In connection with the ordination
and preHminary matters three ministerial deputations had to be sent from
Edinburgh to Shetland, and the date fixed for Mr Willcock's admission was
qualified with the words: "Wind and weather permitting." On nth July
1886 a new church, described as an ornament to the town, was opened by 1
the Rev. Fergus Ferguson, D.D., Glasgow, with sittings for 320, and erected I
at a cost of ^^2000. By a special effort, supplemented by a legacy of ^^500, '
the debt was entirely cleared away within two years. Since then a hall has I
been added at an additional cost of ^560. In 1897 Mr Willcock published!
a book of real value, entitled " The Life of a Shetland Minister," the materials]
being drawn for the most part from the Diary of the Rev. John Mill, who!
was minister of Dunrossness from 1742 to 1805. Prior to this he had goneJ
into the homiletical, including, among other things, a Commentary on Stj
Luke's Gospel. The membership of Lerwick Church at the close of 18991
was 113, and the people contributed ^70 of the stipend, which was made
up otherwise to ^186, besides the manse.
PRESBYTERY OF SHETLAND 655
MOSSBANK (United Secession)
Soon after a congregation was organised at Lerwick and a minister or-
dained, the Secession got footing at the north-east extremity of Delting, a
parish occupying the north-east quarter of the mainland of Shetland. This
was at Mossbank, from which a petition signed by 34 persons was pre-
sented to the Presbytery of Orkney on 6th July 1842 to be admitted to
Church fellowship and recognised as a congregation. They had been
already examined by Mr M'Guffie of Lerwick, along with a probationer
who was on the ground. The Presbytery rejoiced in the opening afforded
them for the introduction of the gospel into that part of Shetland, and Mr
M'Guffie was instructed to proceed at once to Mossbank and congregate the
applicants, work in which he might expect to be assisted by the Rev. James
Robertson of Portsburgh, Edinburgh. In October the membership num-
bered 52, of whom 3 had been chosen for elders. The congregation in its
infant stages owed much to the principal residenter of the place, a proprietor,
and also a merchant on a large scale. He fitted up a storehouse for Sabbath
services, with accommodation for 300, and also undertook to board the
preachers free of expense. The station was opened on the third Sabbath
of January 1842, and, though the weather was stormy, the audience during
the day came up speedily to 250, and at the Bible class there was an attend-
ance of 40 or thereby.
The position of Shetland generally in relation to gospel ordinances is
illustrated by the state of matters at Mossbank. Delting parish, to which
it belongs, has a stretch of some fourteen miles by four or five, and, though
provided with two churches, for most of the people the distance from even
the nearest was great. Owing, besides, to the age of the incumbent, there
were times when both were closed for months together, and an attempt
to impose an unpopular assistant and successor upon the people did not
improve matters. Now that the claims of Shetland were brought vividly
before the Secession Synod and Orkney Presbytery, there was the earnest
wish to meet, if practicable, their spiritual necessities. Miss Catherine
Sinclair's "Shetland and the Shetlanders" had recently appeared, in which
that lady unveiled with much effect the neglected state of these islands in
many cases. She instanced the Fair Isle, which lies midway between
Orkney and Shetland, with a population of 400, and told how for years it
had felt the touch of no minister's foot, and that the last time a clergyman
dispensed baptism there some of the children brought forward were well
grown up, and one boy was so far advanced that, when the service was
performed on himself, he swore most violently. At the same time, the
anxiety of the people to hear the gospel was such that they would row their
boat far distances to bring a preacher, looking on a single sermon as ample
remuneration for a voyage of fifty miles. Thus Mossbank, an important
fishing station on the mainland, became the seat of the second Secession
congregation organised in these islands, the population within available
reach, so far as we can calculate, being about 700 or 800.
After meeting three years for public worship in the storehouse a strong
desire arose among the people to have a regular church built, but, as their own
resources were very limited, they were requested by the Presbytery in the first
instance to bring forward their plans and a statement of the estimated cost.
The movement, however, went on, and in the beginning of 1848 the Presby-
tery records bear that the church, though unfinished, had been opened for
public worship. It contains 236 sittings, but it was nine years before it was
fitted up with seats. About this time Orkney Presbytery were using efforts
to secure the location of a suitable preacher, but without making much pro-
656 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
gress, and before anything" like permanence was gained the cause came very
near extinction. For three months in the early part of 1848 the station
wanted supply, and when opened anew the attendance was under 40, young
and old. The Sabbath school had dwindled down to 5 children, and no
person at all appeared at the first week-evening meeting. But visitation on
the part of the new arrival did its work, and an audience varying from 100
to 250 was speedily secured. The aim of the Presbytery and the Mission
Board was now to compass a fixed ministry, and with this view a stipend of
^100, or ^90 with a house, was arranged for. A call to Mr A. L. Wylie,
probationer, followed in September 1851 signed by 63 members and 74
adherents, but it was not accepted.* In November 1852 they attempted
the translation of the Rev. J. R. Scott from Creetown, but were again
unsuccessful.
In August 1854 Mossbank congregation, under the guidance of the
Presbytery, called Mr William Stewart, probationer, who had been located
among them. After long delay Mr Stewart intimated his willingness to
accept if the church were seated and if he were to have ^100 a year, with a
dwelling-house. But another letter followed, in which he stated that, owing
to painful family bereavements, he was doubtful whether he could take
Mossbank. The call was finally declined.! After other two years had
passed, Orkney Presbytery appointed a committee to urge forward the seat-
ing of the church, but the Mission Board was unwilling to incur this
expense in addition to what would be required for building a manse. There
was now the prospect of having Mr Robert Brown ordained and located at
Mossbank ; but after the arrangements were acquiesced in Mr Brown drew
back, and the Presbytery could do nothing further.! The next thing was
the fitting up of the church's interior, which was accomplished mainly by
outside aid. But other two years went past before a settlement was effected.
First Mi7iister. — Duncan Miller, from Perth (North). Ordained,
24th August 1859. In 1861 a manse was built, which required to be enlarged
and improved under the Manse Scheme some years later at a cost of ^245,
the Board contributing fully one-half. A glebe of a few acres was also
provided for the minister. The membership at this time was 180, but the
* Mr Alex. L. Wylie was from Montrose (Mill Street). In March 1852 he sailed
for Nova Scotia, the last preacher or minister sent to that colony by the Synod. There
he was ordained over the congregation of Great Village, Londonderry, where he
laboured nearly forty years. He died, 30th January 1892, in the seventy-fifth year
of his age. A brief Obituary Notice in the Minutes of the Canadian Synod testifies :
" He was a good man, willing for work and faithful in service." A brother minister
adds : "I can cordially assent to what is above said of him, as I knew him very well."
t Mr William Stewart was from the congregation of Craigend. He got licence
from Perth Presbytery in 1836. About the time of his call to Mossbank he lost his
father and mother, a brother and a sister, in little more than a year. He resided
afterwards at Burntisland with his only surviving sister. They had means to keep
themselves comfortable, and for fifteen years he acted as Chaplain to the Combination
Poorhouse at Kinghorn. He also interested himself much in educational matters,
and specially in the welfare of our Burntisland congregation. He died, 2nd
September 1895, aged eighty-six.
X Robert Brown, like his brother, Dr Joseph Brown, was from Abbey Close,
Paisley. Entered the Hall in 1839, but did not complete his course till the session
of 1853, and got licence the following year. As a probationer his manner was that
of a quiet, earnest instructor. Ordained, 19th August 1857, over the congregation of
Zion Chapel, Newcastle, which removed to a new place of worship in i860, and has
since been known as Erskine Church. Translated to Brampton in December 1888,
after he was threescore and ten, where he died very suddenly, 19th March 1896, in
the seventy-eighth year of his age and thirty-ninth of his ministry.
PRESBYTERY OF SHETLAND 657
resources of the people only enabled them to contribute ^60 of the stipend.
Mr Miller died, 6th June 1874, in the fifty-sixth year of his age and fifteenth
of his ministry.
Second Minister.— ]\y\^^ Craig, brought over from Burra Isles, where
he had been ordained five years before. Inducted, 27th October 1874, and
translated from Shetland to Willington Quay, Newcastle Presbytery, 2nd
January 1877, where he was labouring in 1900.
Third Minister.— TnOMx^ Robertson, from Bridge of Teith. Ordained,
17th August 1877. Two years after this the membership was 109, and the
stipend from the people ^49, with the manse, the decline in both items being
accounted for by emigration. At the close of 1899 both figures were almost
exactly the same as before.
OLLABERRY (United Presbyterian)
This congregation owed its origin to the exertions of Mr M'Farlane of
Lerwick, who in the autumn of 1853 conducted reHgious services at Olla-
berry, thirty-five miles distant, and secured the gratuitous use of a warehouse
for his meetings from the proprietor of the place. Several mission agents
followed, one of whom comes specially before us in connection with a call he
received from Mossbank. On i8th March 1859 the adherents who had been
received into Church fellowship were organised into a congregation with 37
members.
First Minister. — Andrew Baillie, from Stow. Ordained, i8th
September 1861. The various figures in this connection come to little, the
membership being only 40, and the stipend from the people ^30, which was
quite up to their ability. At the Synod in 1862 the claims of Ollaberry were
treated as exceptional. A church, with sittings for nearly 300, and a manse,
were in course of erection with the approval of Edinburgh Presbytery, and
It was agreed to grant ^100 from the Home Mission Fund to each of these
objects, and recommend the case to the sympathy and aid of our congrega-
tions generally. The church was opened on Sabbath, 22nd February 1863,
when the collection reached ^12, a large sum, all things considered. The
cost of the two buildings was £1150, of which only ^45 was contributed in
the locality. Through Mr Baillie's exertions j^8oo had been raised already,
and the rest was obtained in a similar way from outside sources. On ist
January 1867 Mr Baillie was loosed from Ollaberry on accepting an invita-
tion from the Foreign Mission Committee to take charge of Ebenezer Church,
Jamaica. From this he was transferred to Lucea in 1871 to succeed the
Rev. John Campbell.* In 1873 he returned home in impaired health, but
went back in three years to become minister at Mount Olivet. In the
interval he was located for a time in Ramsay, Isle of Man. He still holds
* Mr Campbell was from Lauriston, Glasgow (now Erskine Church). Having
declined a call to Wallsend, Newcastle, he was ordained in Rose Street Church,
Edinburgh, on 29th September 1846, for Goshen, Tamaica, to succeed the Rev,
William Jameson, who had undertaken missionary service in Old Calabar. After
three years Mr Campbell entered on a larger field of labour at Lucea, where there
was a membership of 430 and an attendance of 900. Having laboured faithfully in
that heavy charge and in that trying climate for twenty-one years he resigned in 1871,
and returned home ; but in 1873 he went back to take Mr Baillie's place, ajid
remained other three years. In Edinburgh he was a member of Lauriston Place
session, and made himself active in promoting the welfare of the Jamaica churches.
He died, loth February 1882, in his sixty-third year. His widow, as already
mentioned, is a daughter of the Rev. James Paterson, New Broughton.
II. 2T
658 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
the status of senior minister at Mount Olivet, but is completely incapacitated
for work, which devolves entirely upon his colleague.
Second Minister. — James Y. Thirde, from Dundee (Tay Square).
Ordained, loth July 1868. The congregation in the early part of the vacancy
had called the Rev. James Wardrop of Craigend, now Professor Wardrop,
D.D., perhaps from overestimating the influence of marriage affinity, but he
respectfully declined. On 6th July 1874, when about to complete the sixth
year of his ministry, Mr Thirde was loosed from OUaberry, having decided
on removing south to Muirton, a little congregation in Kincardineshire.
Third Minister.— Vkt-ekU. Russell, from Carnvvath. Ordained, i6th
July 1875. The membership is found at. the close of 1899 to have increased
under Mr Russell from 69 to 106, and the stipend from the congregation was
^43, which was made up by supplement and surplus to ^146, with the
manse.
BURRA ISLES (United Presbyterian)
On 2nd June 1863 Mr M'Farlane of Lerwick had a letter before Edinburgh
Presbytery enclosing a petition from his session for the appointment of a
missionary to Burra and the adjacent isles. He urged the destitute con-
dition of the inhabitants as to the means of grace, and the Presbytery's
Mission Committee were empowered to recommend the case to the Home
Board if on further inquiry they saw fit. Supply was now kept up even in
winter, and in April next year Lerwick session and Lerwick minister asked
the Presbytery to concur with them in an application to the Synod for the
erection of a congregation there. The need for a location was next to be
brought under the notice of the Mission Board with the request to provide
suitable accommodation for the preacher. The station having been visited
by the Home Mission Secretary and a representative of Edinburgh Presby-
tery, Mr M'Farlane reported that on 30th September 1865 he had formed
the members of the Church residing in Burra Isles into a congregation. Up
to this time the meetings for public worship had been held in a building
formerly occupied by the Free Church, but within two months the fabric
came to grief through the roof being blown off by a gale. The harm done
was not fully made up for till 14th April 1867, when a church of their own was
opened by Mr M'Farlane, and on the following Sabbath the communion was
dispensed, 50 members partaking. The parish minister of Quarff, Burra, it
may be here explained, came out at the Disruption ; but a vacancy occurred,
and the united parishes appear in the list of Free Church congregations for
the last time in 1853. Hence the opening for the United Presbyterians at
Burra, and also a place to meet in. Six months after this a call was given
to Mr W. B. Melville, now of Busby, but he declined, and was ordained next
year at Barrow-in-Furness. In July 1868 a call to Mr Thomas Cockburn
met with the same reception, and after a time he was ordained at Hawick
(Orrock Place).
First Minister. — James Craig, from Gorebridge. Ordained, 26th
August 1869. Under Mr Craig the work was certain to be carried on with
vigour, but on 6th October 1874 he agreed to remove to Mossbank. A pause
of more than a year followed, and then Mr John Goold, now of Elgin Street,
Glasgow, was invited, but without effect, to take his place. During this
vacancy one of the preachers who was there on supply gave a very graphic
description of Burra in the magazine. There were the East and the West Isles
coming so close to each other at one point that they were connected by a
wooden bridge. There was the neat little church, seated for fully 200, close
by, with the manse attached, " which is quite as good as could be expected.""
PRESBYTERY OF SHETLAND 659
Within the area of the two islands there were other three churches — one in
which the assistant to the parish minister preached every Sabbath afternoon,
another where the Baptists, and a third where the Methodists, had occasional
services and slender audiences, our own being about 160. The money
arrangements were on a lowly scale, the sittings, at 2s. a year, yielding not
more than ^18, and the collections averaging 6s. or 7s. each Sabbath. Most
of the population were engaged in the joint occupation of fishing and agri-
culture, but the largest of the farms was not over six acres. In consequence
the people had little money among their hands, and very little to spare for
Church purposes. The population at this time was about 750. The writer
of the letter found the people deeply regretting the removal of Mr Craig, to
whom they were warmly attached.
Second Minister.— ] XMKS S. BUTCHART, from Broughty Ferry (Union),
but brought up in the Free Church. Ordained, 3rd October 1877. The
number of members in 1879 was 73, and the stipend from the people ^42,
with the manse. On 6th November 1883 Mr Butchart accepted a call to
New Leeds.
Third Minister.— Ti KWX) Gray, from the Original Secession Church,
Ayr, and a grandson of the Rev. Thomas Gray, Pathhead, one of the pro-
testors against the Union of 1820. Mr Gray was also connected by marriage
with a well-known clerical family in the Original Secession Church, his wife
being a granddaughter of the Rev. Ebenezer Ritchie of Kirkwall. His
application for admission to the U.P. Church as a licentiate came before the
Synod in May 1878, and was readily granted. He explained as his reason
for making the change that he considered there was no sufficient ground for
keeping up divisions in the Church by standing out on points which are
obsolete or ought to be made open questions. Ordained, 12th June 1884.
The membership at the close of 1899 reached 100, and the stipend from the
people was ^^50, which was supplemented by special arrangements up to
^159, IDS., besides the manse.
SCALLOWAY (United Secession)
In 1839 Orkney Presbytery reported to the Synod that they had sent occa-
sional supply of sermon to Scalloway, a village about seven miles from
Lerwick, and that there had been a promising attendance. Interest had
previously been stirred in the religious welfare of Shetland, and the con-
gregation of Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, volunteered to take this station
under their fostering care. The place had a population of about 500, and
was one of the few villages which these islands contained. The people were
ill-situated for gospel ordinances, the parish church in Tingwall being at a
distance of three miles. But in 1842 the report to the Synod bore that a
chapel had been built by the Independents some years before, and another
was in course of being finished in connection with the Established Church, the
former to afford sermon each Sabbath forenoon, and the other on the evening
of alternate Sabbaths. The attendance at our station, which had been
between 200 and 300, was now given at 100 in the forenoon and 200 in the
evening. So far as membership was concerned there had not hitherto been
much to report, there being not more than 12 names on the communion
roll, but in 1844 the number rose to 39. Nicolson Street congregation still
stood by with helping hand, contributing ^^50 a year for the support of a
missionary agency, besides meeting other demands; but in 1847, owing to
the discouraging outlook, this subsidy was withdrawn, and Scalloway
came to be spoken of as a place where the Secession once had a station.
66o HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
but it had ceased to exist. In this state matters continued for about fort)
years.
It was under the Synod's Evangelistic vScheme that work was resumed fori
a few weeks in the summer of 1883. This widened out into a location of
Mr William Falconer, evangelist, for three and a half years, beginning in;
November 1884 and ending in February 1888. During that period good;
work was reported, though the want of a suitable place of meeting was much'
felt, and also a proper residence for the missionary agent. The services were
conducted at first in the Wesleyan Chapel, which was described as " a dirty,
damp, ill-lighted place," and the Home Board had doubts as to the ad-
visability of proceeding with the erection of a church, as they were informed
that there were four regularly organised congregations in the village already.
The Presbytery explained in reply that the parish church provided only one
service on Sundays, that the minister resided three miles off, and that the
Congregationalist minister was the only one who resided in the village. As
for the Wesleyans, they had only services occasionally, which were con-
ducted on Sabbath evenings by an assistant from Lerwick or by a poorly
educated local preacher. The Plymouth Brethren again were scarcely to
be taken into the calculation. Though in Scalloway itself the population
might not be over 600 there were double that number within a distance of a
mile and a half, including an island with some 30 families, who were
dependent on Scalloway for gospel ordinances. In addition to this there
was an influx of hundreds to the village at the fish-curing season. These
arguments prevailed, the purchase of a site was arranged for, and the new
building was to be ready for occupancy on 25th September 1885, when all
the members of Presbytery were invited to be present.
In June 1884 the station at Scalloway was placed under the care of
Lerwick session, with authority to dispense sealing ordinances to such as
might be admitted to Church membership after examination. Two elders
were afterwards elected and ordained, who would rank as members of
Lerwick session, Scalloway being technically a branch of that congregation.
In 1888 the Presbytery thought it desirable to have probationers introduced
to carry the work into a higher stage than that of lay agency, and prepare
the way for a settled ministry. Supply was partially drawn for a time from
the Students' Recess Scheme, but in 1892 Presbytery and congregation
were fortunate in securing the services of the Rev. Thomas Forsyth, formerly
of Gorebridge. After this location had lasted for two years the people,
wishing to have a closer bond formed, pressed for a moderation, stating
that they were certain the granting of their request would be for the pros-
perity of the cause. They were also to do their best in the way of subscribing
for stipend, though they were not safe to name a higher figure than ^14 ; but
there was a manse, and no debt upon the property. The application war
referred to the Synod with cordial recommendation. The petition came u]
to the Supreme Court in May with 46 names appended, and the Presbytei
were authorised to let a moderation go on as soon as the congregating was
over. This was done on 7th August, the two elders already in office t(
constitute a session. A unanimous call was followed by the induction 01
1 8th October 1894. Mr Forsyth was a welcome accession to the littl(
Presbytery of Shetland, in whose business he had taken part since cominj
within the bounds, acting as examiner of Sabbath-school papers — work il
which he had been of service for years to the large Presbytery of Edinburgh!
Scalloway was now highly favoured as a congregation, though large increase
either in numbers or in funds was not to be looked for. At the Union th(
membership was slightly over 50, and the contributions in the estimation
the Presbytery were quite up to the ability of the people.
PRESBYTERY OF SHETLAND 66i
ESHANESS (United Presbyterian)
" ESHANESS, near Ollaberry," is a phrase we meet with in our Church records
ever and again ; but the two places are on different sides of the mainland,
though both are in the parish of Northmaven. An intervening distance of
ten miles counts for little among the stretches of Shetland. Before Mr
Baillie left Ollaberry, and very much through his exertions, the walls of a
little chapel were built at Eshaness, for the conducting of mission services
occasionally. It was afterwards finished, and in the summer of 1879 regular
evangelistic work was begun there by a student under the Recess Scheme.
He was succeeded by one evangelist and then by another, who carried on
operations during the winter. This arrangement was prolonged for years,
successive students going north to Eshaness at the close of the Hall
session to hold the post till it was time to return. The first three winters
the services were conducted, as the Mission Board testified, by the same
evangelist, " with increasing interest and apparent profit on the part of the
people, who on Sabbath evenings have crowded the little chapel in which
the meetings are held." A stimulus was given to Church Extension work in
these islands by the formation of a Shetland Presbytery in 1883. Next
October Mr Russell of Ollaberry obtained authority to administer seahng
ordinances at Eshaness to such as might be received into Church fellowship,
and on the first Sabbath of April 1884 he dispensed the communion to 17,
who had become members of the U.P. Church. About this time Mr Scobie,
student, now minister of Plantation Church, Glasgow, reported an average
attendance of 70 in the morning and from 100 to 150 in the evening. The
Central Board were so well satisfied with the progress made that they sug-
gested to the Presbytery the propriety of having the station raised to the
rank of a congregation.
In March 1885 other 10 members were admitted, and a year later four
elders were chosen and ordained with the approval of Ollaberry session,
and, we may assume, were recognised as members thereof A small house
was now to be built for the agent in charge, at the slender cost of ^90. In
1888 the Presbytery were of opinion that the station had outgrown the
evangelistic stage, and ought to be supplied by licentiates, and in 1892 the
services of Mr William Wilson,* probationer, having been secured for at
least twelve months the cause was found to have made a new start. A year
later the membership had increased from 28 to 44, the chapel had been
repaired by the people themselves, and the Board had made a liberal grant
for a dwelling-house. It was as if the way had been opened for a fixed
ministry ; but the state of Mr Wilson's health forbade the idea of having him
settled there, and the employment of another probationer was recommended.
On 7th August 1894 the members of the mission station at Eshaness,
including two elders and six managers, petitioned to be formed into a con-
gregation, which was done on i6th September, "the two elders to constitute
its session, and the six managers to form an ad itilerim committee of
* William Wilson, M.A. , from Bothwell, got licence from Glasgow Presbyter)'
(North) in March 1888. After being on the probationer list for two years he was
located at Lismore for ten months, and then came his engagement at Eshaness. In
both places he was diligent and energetic, and but for a serious ailment the latter
might have become his fixed sphere of labour. On leaving he returned to preacher
life, and, though subject to attacks of epilepsy, he persevered in the hope, we may
believe, that his assailant would withdraw. At the time of the Union he was
fulfilling preaching appointments. (Mr Wilson died, 2nd January 1902, aged forty-
five. His old fellow-students presented him with a testimonial of their regard some
time before his death. ) 1
662 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
management." Next year the Mission Board expended on the manse al
Eshaness, the payment of mission agents, and in other ways, ^327. At th(
Synod in May 1896 a petition for liberty of moderation came up froi
Eshaness signed by 48 persons in full communion. They could only promise
^10 of stipend to begin with ; but there was a manse valued at £6 a year^
and there was no debt on the property. The petition was granted, subject
to stipend arrangements by the Mission Board. A call was now brought
out to Mr John G. Taylor, who declined, and soon after got Firth, in Orkney^
instead of Eshaness, in Shetland.
Fi'rsi Minister. — SiMSON Wallace, from Leven. Ordained, 7th ApriP
1897. The call was signed by 32 members and 19 adherents, and the
diminutive stipend from the people was to be supplemented by ;^ 104 from
the Board. In the year of the Union there were 52 names on the com-
munion roll.
CLOUSTA (United Presbyterian)
Evangelistic services were conducted in this district of Shetland for six
weeks in the autumn of 1884, and the question was raised as to the desira-
bility of establishing a mission station there on a permanent basis. In the
following February 39 members in full communion with other churches and
100 adherents petitioned the Presbytery to be placed under the supervision
of Lerwick session, and to have sealing ordinances dispensed among them,
which was cordially agreed to. In April 1887 the care of the station was
transferred from Lerwick to Mossbank, and in the course of another year
elders were chosen and ordained, who would rank as members of Mossbank
session. For three years prior to October 1895 Mr George Henderson,
evangelist, had been doing good work at Clousta ; but at this point the
Presbytery gave it as their opinion that a probationer should take the place
of a lay agent, and that no one should be located there for a shorter period
than six months. The field, they represented to the Mission Board, was
virtually in the hands of our Church, and it would be very unfortunate if we
failed to turn our opportunity to the best advantage. The station had been
in existence for ten years, and they trusted to have a congregation formed,
and a regular minister settled, before long.
The former part of this anticipation was realised on 23rd September
1897, when 70 members of the mission station at Clousta petitioned to b<
congregated. This was done at the close of public worship on 3rd October,
and the four elders already in office were constituted into a session. Th(
Rev. Alexander Duncan, formerly of Mount Pleasant, Greenock, had beei
in charge of the station since March, and may have been expected to remain]
permanently; but in June 1898 it is entered in the Minutes of the Hom(
Mission Board that probationers were to take up the work, each to serv«
for at least three months, the " Rev. Alexander Duncan having intimatec
his desire to be relieved of the charge." At the Synod in May 1899 then
was a further development in a petition for liberty of moderation, as th(
people were most anxious to have a minister set over them. There was n<
debt on the property, which included a manse, but they could not promise
more than ^10 a year for stipend to begin with. This accorded with th(
homoeopathic scale on which money affairs in Shetland required to b(
conducted. For example, an Independent place of worship in the sam(
parish was reported to the Religious Commissioners in 1838 to have cost
0"ly ^70j and the 80 sittings let brought a return of not more than £2 a^
year, the charge for each being sixpence. The minister's emoluments wer<
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 663
j{^30 in all, of which ^8 came from the congregation. In the several dissent-
ing churches, Independent, Baptist, and Wesleyan, the standard of liberality
was very similar, but alongside of this we have to place the meagre income
of the people. Crofters with a few acres of unkindly ground had scanty
funds to draw from, even though fishing came in to supplement. The Synod
made ample allowances, and agreed that Clousta should have the benefit of
a fixed pastorate.
First Minister. — John F. Miller, from Dairy, Ayrshire. Ordained,
19th October 1899. Owing to so many of the people being away at the
herring fishing the signatures at the call only numbered 60, including
adherents, but the membership at the end of the year was 99. Clousta,
it may be stated in closing, is in the northern part of the united parishes of
Sandsting and Aithsting, which have an extension of ten miles in length
by eight miles in breadth. The parish church is towards the southern
extremity, so that a large district about Clousta Bay came to depend fifteen
years ago on the U.P. Church for gospel ordinances, and in executing the
weighty trust in this, and in other parts of Shetland, neither money nor
labour has been spared.
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING
STIRLING, ERSKINE CHURCH (Burgher)
On 8th July 1 73 1 (not 6th September) Ebenezer Erskine, M.A., was inducted
to Stirling. The charge was new, the place of worship new, and there were
two other Established Church ministers in the town. After being twenty-
eight years in the rural parish of Portmoak, during which time he had
been called, but without effect, to Burntisland, TuUiallan, Kirkcaldy, and
Kinross, transportation carried at that comparatively late hour. Mr Mair of
Orwell was through at the induction, and found some leading people in
Stirling apprehensive that Mr Erskine might disturb the harmony of the
place. They knew he had been a foremost man in the Marrow Controversy,
and had championed the rights of the Christian people all through, but Mr
Mair assured them of his pacific disposition and high-toned character. The
sermon preached at the opening of the Synod of Stirling and Perth, and
what it led to in the General Assembly of 1733, need not be gone over.
Then came the sentence of suspension by the Commission in November,
followed by the meeting at Gairney Bridge on 5th December, and the for-
mation of the Associate Presbytery.
On Sabbath, 18th May 1740, Mr ?2rskine was excluded from the West
Church, Stirling. For six and a half years he and his brethren, though
retaining possession of their pulpits, had been outside the judicatories of
the Church, and this anomalous state of things could not go on inter-
minably. There had been a split in Stirling session some time before,
eleven of the elders siding with Mr Erskine and five adhering to the Estab-
lishment, but their places were more than filled by the admission of eleven
seceding elders from other parishes, seven of them from St Ninians. At
the Breach Mr Erskine and his brother headed the Burgher party, who
went in for forbearance, and in the following year he published a pamphlet,
entitled "The True State of the Question," brief, calm, and convincing. In
his History of Scotland John Struthers, whose mind was warped in favour
of the Antiburghers, speaks as if Ebenezer Erskine had lost his powers of
664
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
discernment at this time, and Hew Scott puts down that he never afterwards
engaged in anything of importance. These statements are groundless,
though Mr Efskine's hopes of the Secession movement must have been
sadly blighted by what he witnessed at this trying juncture.
In 1742 the large church in the Back Row was completed. Years were
now telling upon Mr Erskine, and the burden of an overgrown and far-
scattered congregation dictated permanent assistance. Accordingly, in 1745
the congregation called Mr William Mair to be his colleague ; but that
preacher was in great demand, and the Synod gave Muckart the preference.
Other five years passed, during which Mr Erskine's pulpit labours were
lightened by assistance from his brethren. In a letter of 6th August 1750,
addressed to the Rev. James Johnston of Dundee, we have insight into his
feelings at this time. He tells that with him the threescore and ten years
are fulfilled, and that several parts of his ministerial work he is utterly
incapable of discharging. His congregation got their eyes years before
upon Mr William Mair, but the Lord said : " This is not he." Now his
thoughts are turned towards his nephew, Mr James Erskine, who is about
to be taken on trials for licence by Dunfermline Presbytery, and he hopes
Mr Johnston and the other members will not forget his claims and the
claims of his congregation. He pleads his growing infirmities, his insup-
portable work, and his crushing trials, which are like to bring his grey hairs
with sorrow to the grave. The urgency of the case prevailed with his
brethren, and in due time the end was gained.
Second Minister. — James Erskine, youngest son of the Rev. Ralph
Erskine, Dunfermline. Called first to succeed Mr Johnston at Dundee,
and then to be colleague to his father and his uncle respectively. The
Synod, much to his father's chagrin and his own disappointment, sent him
to Stirling, " beyond dispute the most numerous in the whole Association."'
For a time it looked as if James would not submit, but he must have felt
that the Synod's appointment was strictly just. His uncle was older than
his father, more infirm, and burdened with even a heavier charge. He
yielded, and was ordained at Stirling, 22nd January 1752. His uncle died
on 2nd June 1754, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and fifty-first of his
ministry. The works of Ebenezer Erskine consist chiefly of sermons pub-
lished at various times, and collected into four volumes by the Rev. James
Fisher in 1760, with a volume edited by his son David — five years earlier.
He was also the author of Answers to the Queries on the Marrow of Modern
Divinity, and it was he who drew up the "Act of the Associate Presbytery
concerning the Doctrine of Grace," a masterly performance. He left two
sons-in-law in the ministry — James Fisher, Burgher minister of Glasgow,
and James Scot, Antiburgher minister of Morebattle.
The work of Stirling congregation was too much for a single man,
and in September 1756 the session applied for a hearing of probationers
with a view to a second minister. The Presbytery found they had no young
men under their inspection, and procedure was delayed. Mr Erskine died,
after a short illness, 9th March 1761, in the thirty-first year of his age and
tenth of his ministry. His widow, Mr Fisher's (of Glasgow) eldest daughter,
survived him little more than a year. Her mother wrote to her sister, Mrs
Scot, in April 1762 : "Your niece, Mrs Erskine, is to all appearance dying
of what is called a galloping consumption. She is in much the same way
as her husband was." After her death their orphan son Ralph lived with
his grandparents in Glasgow ; but he grew up a reckless lad, and perished
at sea. In 1770 Mrs Fisher wrote in another letter to her sister: "Poor
man, he was a great' trial to his grandfather and me ; but nobody knows
what sovereign grace may have done even in his last moments." She also
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 665
tells how, on receiving the sad news, Mr Fisher " burst out into tears, which
was very affecting."
A long and troubled chapter in the history of the Burgher church in
Stirling is now to commence. Six months after James Erskine's death the
congregation applied for a double moderation, but in granting it the
Presbytery recommended them not to attempt to call two ministers at once.
It issued in the choice of Mr John Low, who had been ordained in Biggar
since the moderation was granted. Though the call carried 633 signatures
the Presbytery rejected it owing to a protest by about three dozen members
against having it sustained. In January 1762 Mr Robert Campbell got
licence from the same Presbytery, a preacher whom some of the ministers
looked on as the very man for Stirling, and who filled the vacant pulpit soon
after for at least seven Sabbaths. At a second moderation in July Mr Low
was again chosen, being carried over Mr Campbell by a majority of 200,
but the Synod refused to translate. In February 1763 the congregation
called the Rev. George Coventry of Stitchel with apparent unanimity, but
it ended in an " unexpected disappointment." Meanwhile Mr Campbell had
been called to London (afterwards Wells Street), and, as he was holding
back, the same Synod ordered Edinburgh Presbytery "to expede his
ordination." He now wrote the London session pleading the difficulty of
building up a congregation on Secession principles in the great city, and
giving it as his opinion that the only accessions they had from those of
English descent were gained through marriage.
That summer Mr Campbell occupied Stirling pulpit other five Sabbaths,
but when a call followed it was protested against. Mr Fisher of Glasgow
was credited with the resolve that Mr Campbell, whose father-in-law he
became, should be settled at Stirling, and this intensified the spirit of hostility
to the choice of the majority. At next meeting of Synod the divided call
claimed preference to that from London ; but the Synod adhered to their
former decision, and virtually ruled the new importation out of Court. At
the Synod in May 1764 the London call was dismissed, and Mr Campbell
rebuked for his conduct in this affair. The field was now clear for a hand-
to-hand struggle between the two parties in StirHng congregation.
The vacancies of Pollokshaws and Cumbernauld were meanwhile putting
in for Mr Campbell, whose popularity placed him above all the other pro-
bationers of his day, and this action would stimulate his friends in Stirling
to press on for another moderation. The majority of the session petitioned
to that effect, but the Presbytery gave instructions that in the first instance
each elder should go through his district accompanied by an elder from the
other side, "to pulse the congregation." The reports they brought in bore
that 633 were for Mr Campbell, 41 1 for a new leet, and 62 had other pro-
posals to make. It ended in a call to Mr Campbell with 959 signatures
being laid before the Synod in October 1764, and preferred to the two from
Pollokshaws and Cumbernauld combined. The majority of the Presbytery
would willingly have carried this decision into effect, but at their first meeting
they were met by a paper from 864 members, refusing to subject themselves
to Mr Campbell's ministry. The Presbytery first attempted to ascertain the
real state of the church, and after three days of investigation it was found
that 694 communicants and 436 non-communicants were for proceeding, and
493 communicants and 214 non-communicants were for delaying. These
figures reveal the strength of the congregation, and yet it was alleged that
the totality was not much more than half the number on the examination
roll in James Erskine's time.
At its meeting in May 1765 the Synod was clear that a day of fasting
and humiliation should be observed with the divided congregation. It is
666
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
now that the famous "Stilling Covenant" emerges, with its promise otj
shelter from prolonged contention. The terms were agreed to under the]
mediation of four members of Synod : (i) That as the largeness and the
extent of the congregation required the services of two ministers, each of the j
contending parties should choose one, and have them admitted on the samel
day. (2) That the two calls should be issued and signed simultaneously by 1
both parties. (3) That if either of the calls proved abortive the other should '<
lie over till they were in a position to have the two charges filled up at one
time. With some misgivings on the part of the Presbytery and some
objections from a few of Mr Campbell's opposers the Articles of agreement
were sanctioned, signed, and put upon record. On the above footing twoj
calls were brought out — the one to Mr Robert Campbell, probationer ; the]
other to the Rev. John Swanston, minister at Kinross. The question of Mi
Swanston's transportation lay over till May 1766, and then it carried to con-
tinue him in Kinross. The congregation were at the same time recommendec"
to "make no undue delay in bringing out another call to a second object."!
The Rev. George Coventry of Stitchel they now came back on, the call
being signed by 1419, of whom upwards of 1000 were communicants ; but at
their meeting in September the Synod's decision was again hostile, and the
terms of the Stirling Covenant were as far from being met as ever.
It may be that neither Mr Swanston nor Mr Coventry was inclined to
face the contingencies at Stirling, nor even to be planted down alongside of
a young man with M r Campbell s gifts of oratory. There seem also to have
been misgivings among members of Synod as to the validity of the compact,
and so the case was now to take another form. Mr Campbell's friends had
already shown an inclination to have their own candidate ordained, though
there should be no other in readiness, and for himself, he complained of
being kept in suspense from year to year. To this course the Synod, in
the midst of strong opposition, agreed, and instructed the Presbytery to pro-
ceed towards Mr Campbell's settlement with all convenient speed. His
trials having been sustained, Glasgow Presbytery met at Stirling for the
ordination on 27th November 1766. But along with the return of the edict
objectors appeared with a list of charges against Mr Campbell, intended to
stop further procedure. There had been attempts before this to brand him
with error in doctrine, and now an array of statements, said to have been
caught up from his lips, was tabled for investigation. Talked with on the
subject by the Presbytery Mr Campbell declared that, whatever his language;
may have been, he abhorred the sentiments imputed to him ; and, as thej
accusers had given neither time nor place nor connection nor a list ofl
witnesses, the services went on.
Third Mims/er.^RoBERT Campbell, M.A., from Glasgow (now Grey-
friars). The ordination, as entered above, did little to abate prevailing dis-
tractions, though a subsequent movement promised well. A month after
Mr Campbell's settlement a moderation was applied for, with the view of
obtaining a second minister, and a third time Mr Coventry of Stitchel wasj
called. In May 1767 the question of transportation was once more submittec
to the Synod, and once more the Synod said No, a decision which only Mi
Coventry's aversion to accept could justify. Mr Campbell at least showe<i'
his readiness to welcome him as a true yoke-fellow by appearing at th«
Synod as a commissioner in prosecution of the call. But the opposition party
still kept up their hostility to the young minister, and the Synod at thi^
meeting felt called on to review the case in all its bearings. They confessec'
error on their own part at the first in preferring a divided call from Stirling
to two unanimous calls from Pollokshaws and Cumbernauld, and also ir
finally appointing Mr Campbell's ordination upon a call which came out oill
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 667
the footing of the " Stirling Covenant,'' and ought for that reason to have
been laid aside.
The commissioners on Mr Campbell's side now suggested to the Synod
that their brethren should either join with them in their next call to a second
minister or be erected into a separate congregation. In the latter case they
might depend on assistance from them in building a place of worship.
Accordingly, at their next meeting in August the Synod authorised the
protestors to apply to the Presbytery for a disjunction any time they thought
tit. But even this did not satisfy, the plea being that it required them to
turn their backs on their former contendings and acquiesce in an act of
intrusion. Two publications in 1768 throw light on the condition of affairs
at that time. The one is a pamphlet of 272 pages, entitled "The Cry of
Oppression," in which the opponents of the recent settlement detail the
Presbytery's misdoings, Mr Campbell's bad qualities, and their own empty
protests and accumulated wrongs. The other is a sermon on " The Triumphs
of Grace," preached by Mr Campbell to his own people on 13th March 1768.
From the subject he draws the lesson of Christian forgiveness, and in a foot-
note to a second edition, published in 1793, he explains that the reference
bore on the conduct of a party in the congregation who outrageously opposed
his settlement and insulted him with very opprobrious language. But he
added, speaking of himself in the third person : " Not long after his ordina-
tion, however, numbers of these people cordially received him as their
pastor, and some of them died members of his session."
Mr Campbell also speaks of his opposers having acted under the in-
stigation of some whose duty it was to have advised differently. This
remark applies specially to the Rev. John M'Ara of Burntshields, against
whom Stirling session brought up a complaint to the Presbytery five weeks
after Mr Campbell's ordination. He had preached in a tent on the previous
Sabbath, read an inflammatory paper, caballed with the disaffected, and
it was hinted that he looked for a permanent settlement in Stirling. Instead
of this the malcontents who still held out, after waiting nearly two years, had
a disjunction granted them in May 1769. But before the new cause had
gone on many months Mr Campbell's session represented to the Presbytery
the impropriety of the step that had been taken. It was a setting up of
altar against altar, and unlike what it would have been had St Ninians or
Bannockburn been fixed on as the seat of the new formation. It was also
urged that the favour was undeserved, as the greater number had been
habitually attending Antiburgher places of worship, and some of them had
even gone for sealing ordinances to the Established Church. The Synod
at its meeting in August 1769 refused to confirm the disjunction granted by
Glasgow Presbytery, as it would cause a flame of contention in the churches
around. We have the last of this dreary case in September 1772, when the
Synod granted the protestors liberty to join themselves to such of the
neighbouring congregations as they pleased, a description which could apply
only to Dunblane and Doune, neither of them less than six miles distant —
"this agreement to be final for the settling of harmony." We now pass over
a period of fifteen years.
In July 1787 the session and congregation of .Stirling petitioned to be
recognised as a collegiate charge, and on this footing a call was brought
out to the Rev. Ebenezer Brown of Inverkeithing with 1229 signatures,
members and adherents. The Synod, however, decided against translating,
influenced as on other occasions, we believe, by Mr Brown's aversion to
remove from his first charge. But several members dissented, and got
it marked in the Minutes that they would not be answerable for the
disagreeable consequences to Stirling. They may have been apprehensive
668
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
that the spirit of a former day would awake, but, fortunately, a harmonious
settlement was effected in good time.
Fourth Minister.— ]owii SMART, from Jedburgh (Blackfriars). At a
meeting of Presbytery on loth December 1788, Mr Campbell asked pulpit
supply, and Mr Smart was sent to preach at Stirling the next two Sabbaths.
A petition for a moderation was granted in the hope that the ^90 promised
to the junior minister would be made up to what Mr Campbell had. The
mode of procedure on the day appointed is minutely given. The session
were first asked whether they had a leet to propose, and one of them named
Mr John Smart. This was the method adopted in the Church of Scotland
so early as 1638: "The session to nominate with the consent and good
liking of the people." Hence Principal Rule said they did not so put the
election into the hands of the multitude as either to exclude the eldership
or put the people from under their guidance. The same system crops up
again and again at moderations in the Secession ; but there was liberty to
add to the session's leet, and on this occasion two ordained ministers were
named. The vote being taken, about forty hands were lifted up for the
Rev. Ebenezer Brown, and a fourth of that number for the Rev. George
Hill of Cumbernauld. Mr Smart was then declared chosen, and the call
was ultimately signed by minister, elders, and members to the number of
1225. Another call to Mr Smart from Hawick (now East Bank), had gone
before, and another followed from Lanark, but the Synod preferred Stirling^
and the ordination took place, 24th June 1789. Mr Smart wrote soon after-
wards to a friend : " I speak to about 3000 every day. The meeting-house
is, perhaps, the largest in the land."
Eight years after this the Old Light Controversy woke up in Stirling at
its fiercest, and threatened to bring the colleagueship to a close. At the
Synod in May 1797 two transporting calls to the junior minister came up
for disposal, the one from Kirkcaldy (Bethelfield) and the other from
Paisley (Abbey Close). In his speech on that occasion Mr Smart acknow-
ledged that there was much in his present situation to prompt the wish for
a change, but a sense of duty bound him to keep by his colleague in the
midst of the storm. The Synod endorsed this resolve, and next October
the tvvo ministers were brought into close family bonds by Mr Smart
becoming Mr Campbell's son-in-law. How they both felt while the strife
was at its worst, we have from their own correspondence, given in Dr
Smart's Memoir by his son. At the outset the party opposed to all inter-
ference with the Formula were in the ascendant. In April 1796, when the
session petitioned the Synod to dismiss the overture which pleaded for a
change, only two of the elders joined Mr Smart in his dissent. A year later,
when the calls were up from Kirkcaldy and Paisley, the congregation had
a representation forward against innovating on the standards of the Church,
and in 1798 liberty was asked "to receive sealing ordinances from those
ministers who are striving to maintain our excellent standards." At the
meeting of Synod in September 1799, when formal severance began, papers
of remonstrance, one from the session of Stirling and another from the
congregation, were in the foreground, the latter in particular marked by
great bitterness of speech. But the bond of dispeace was now to be broken,
and a rival community organised.
It was not till the end of April 1800 that supply was sent to Stirling by
the Original Burgher Presbytery ; but Mr Shirra of Kirkcaldy, who had
gone to spend his last years in his native place, was heart and soul with
the dissentients, and his gifts would be at their service. The filing away
of so many must have told on the appearance of the pews, including a
number of the more prominent. The Old Light party proceeded without
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 669
delay with the building of a church, which cost ^1600, and had 800 sittings.
The second call, addressed to the Rev. WiUiam Willis of Greenock, who
became their first minister, was signed by 317 members, but the loss was
made up for by the storm being changed into a calm. Mr Campbell died,
30th June 1803, in the sixty-sixth year of his age and thirty-seventh of his
ministry. For two years Mr Smart continued sole pastor, but in June 1805
the session and congregation represented to the Presbytery that the burden
was far too heavy for him. By this time they had been favoured with the
services of Mr John Brown, probationer, and were harmonious in their wish
to have him for Mr Smart's colleague. This eventuated in a unanimous
call signed by 937 members, besides adherents, but at the Synod the claims
of Biggar prevailed.
Fifth Minister. — David Stewart, from Ecclefechan, a younger brother
of the Rev. John Stewart of Pitcairn, afterwards Dr Stewart of Liverpool.
Called also to Leslie (now Trinity Church) and Horndean, but Stirling
carried. Ordained on 26th November 1806, the stipend to be ^iio.
Throughout a joint ministry of nearly forty years the two colleagues
laboured on with unbroken harmony. In this connection Dr Smart of
Leith in his Memoir of his father beautifully remarks: "Writing of this
friend, faithfulness requires us to say that Dr Smart's opinion of him was
highest, and his love for him strongest at the last. The whole family beg
to offer him grateful acknowledgments for untiring kindness towards their
father, and for unchanging friendship towards themselves." In 1826 a new
church was built, with 1417 sittings, at a cost of ^3100, of which ^1000 rested
as debt on the property twelve years afterwards. In 1838 the communicants
numbered 822, of whom about one-third were from the parish of St Ninians,
with a number of families from Logie, Kincardine, Lecropt, and Gargunnock.
The stipends paid the two ministers amounted to ^400, which was httle
more than the yearly sum raised from seat rents alone. The charge being
collegiate there was a third service every second Sabbath. At this time the
membership of the Original Burgher congregation was 280, and the stipend
^130, with a manse. In the following year they joined the Established
Church, and left again at the Disruption. Soon afterwards their minister,
the Rev. William Mackray, a man of large literary acquirements, who had
succeeded Mr Willis in 1824, was translated to Huntly, and the church was
sold to the Free South congregation. Mr Mackray removed to Edinburgh
not later than 1850, and died there, 25th June 1870, in his seventy-first
year.
Sixth Minister.— ]on^ Steedm.\n, from Milnathort. In 1839 Mr
Smart's jubilee was celebrated, and for other two years he went on with
his regular work amidst tokens of advancing infirmity. A third minister
was then arranged for, the first instance of the kind in any branch of what
is now the U.P. Church. Mr Stewart, though exemplary as a pastor, had
never approached his colleague in pulpit power, and he also was now
declining into the vale of years. Mr Steedman became the harmonious
choice of the congregation, though a goodly number of votes went for Mr
Thomas Stevenson, afterwards of Auchtermuchty. He was ordained, 17th
August 1842, having previously refused Belfast and withdrawn his accept-
ance of Craigdam. The call was signed by 502 members and 90 adherents.
The entire membership was about 750. The money arrangements were not
marked by liberality so far as the third minister was concerned. Mr Smart
was to have ;^ioo, Mr Stewart ^150, and Mr Steedman ^100 for the time.
In 1843 Mr Smart had the degree of D.D. from Glasgow University, and
it is matter of regret that it was so long in coming. He died, 4th November
1845, i" the eighty-second year of his age and fifty-seventh of his ministry.
670 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
A volume of his high-pitched discourses, with a Memoir already referred to,
was published in 1846. Dr Smart's only surviving daughter became the
wife of her cousin, the Rev. William Smart of Linlithgow.
On 5th October 1852 the Presbytery sanctioned an arrangement, come
to a year before, by which Mr Stewart retired from public work, as his
increasing infirmities rendered " what was once a pleasant duty not in-
frequently a painful task." The congregation decided to pay him an annual
allowance of ^140, Mr Steedman's stipend to be ^200. Mr Stewart died,
30th August 1854, in the eighty-first year of his age and forty-eighth of his
ministry. In a few years Mr Steedman's powers of vigorous manhood
yielded to chronic asthma, and the congregation insisted on the appointment
of a colleague, pleading that the services of a second minister would be
much to the advantage of both pastor and people.
Seventh Minister. — John T. Gowanlock, from Edinburgh (Bristo
Street). Ordained, 24th September 1861. Was disjoined along with part
of the congregation on 2nd January 1866, as is fully related under Allan
Park. Mr Steedman was now sole pastor again, and as such passed
through a succession of burdened years, but on 4th April 1876 he requested
the Presbytery to relie\e him of the work of the pastorate. The congregation
at the same time applied for a moderation, Mr Steedman to have ^^140,
with the annuity from the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund, and his
colleague ;i^25o.
Eighth Minister. — Andrew F. Forrest, from Caledonia Road,
Glasgow, a brother of the Rev. John Forrest, then of Hull, and afterwards
of Kilmarnock. Ordained, 4th July 1876, having previously declined
Willington Quay, Bannockburn, and St Nicholas' Lane, Aberdeen. Was
called in the following year to Bethelfield, Kirkcaldy, but remained in
Stirling. Translated to Bristol, 5th April 1881, but returned to Scotland in
1885 on accepting Renfield Street, Glasgow. Erskine Church called the
Rev. A. L. Henderson of Durham, in January 1882, who declined.
Ninth Minister. — Andrew Ritchie, translated from Yetholm after a
ministry of eighteen years, and inducted, 17th August 1882. Mr Steedman
died, 20th February 1884, in the seventy-first year of his age and forty-second
of his ministry, leaving a son minister of Eaglesham. Mr Ritchie's stipend
was now advanced to ^310. He died, 17th January 1893, leaving Erskine
Church with a membership of 394. He was in the sixtieth year of his age
and twenty-ninth of his ministry.
Tenth Minister. — Thomas Wright, M.A., from Johnstone (East).
Ordained, 24th October 1893. The membership at the close of 1899 was
491, and the stipend ^310.
STIRLING, VIEWFIELD (Antiburgher)
This congregation began with a sprinkling of families that withdrew from
Ebenezer Erskine's ministry at the Breach in 1747. They had four elders
among them from the first, and two others followed, one of them two years
afterwards confessing that he had joined for some time with the pretended
session of the place in the way of burying the Act and Testimony of Jesus
Christ. The other acceded in a similar manner three years later, and each
after being exhorted to more steadfastness took his seat. The baptismal
lists for the first twenty years give evidence that a very small proportion of
the Antiburghers were from Mr Erskine's original congregation in Stirling.
A larger number belonged to families who had acceded from Logie parish.
PRESBYTERY OP^ STIRLING 671
and especially from St Ninians. In 1752 the first church was built, with
accommodation for 610.
First Minister. — John Heugh, son of the Rev. John Heugh, minister
of Kingoldrum parish, in Forfarshire, who died in 1731. The father's
sympathies had lain with the evangelical party in the Church of Scotland,
and this, together with the violent settlement of his successor, brought the
family into the ranks of the Secession almost from the first. John, the only
surviving son, studied under Mr Moncriefif of Culfargie, and three of his
sisters were married to Antiburgher ministers. During the latter part of
his theological course Mr Heugh taught the Philosophical Class at Aber-
nethy, and having obtained licence in 1752 he was called to LesHe (West)
in the course of a month, and Stirling followed. At the moderation the
presiding minister intimated that. "males come to the years of discretion,
free of public scandal, and adhering to the Lord's cause and testimony, and
in conjunction with this congregation, were allowed to vote." The call was
signed by 79 (male) members, and was preferred by the Synod to that from
Leslie with its 131 signatures. Mr Heugh was ordained, 24th October 1753.
The membership must have increased largely in view of this event, there
having been 53 accessions on the moderation day and 33 some time after.
Of Mr Heugh's ministry there is little to be recorded. The congregation
was overshadowed all along by the parent church ; hence, in 1792, while the
Burghers, young and old, in the town and parish of Stiriing totalled 1415,
the Antiburghers only reached 172, with probably a much larger number
from other parishes. In the Old Statistical History of that date there is
mention of a clause having been introduced into the Burgess Oath for
Stirling to relieve the Antiburgher conscience. In swearing it the party
only promised to obey the magistrates in matters purely civil, and in so far
as agreeable to the Word of God, so that there was an entire elimination
of the religious element.
Second Minister. — Thomas Dick, from Dundee (now Bell Street),
where in the early session Minutes his father's name frequently occurrs.
Mr Heugh was now over seventy, and Mr Dick was ordained as his
colleague on 30th November 1803. We would gladly be excused adding
that the junior minister within two years was under process for flagrant
immorality, and on 17th December 1805 he was deposed. He was invited
some time after by Mr Jameson of Methven and his session to conduct a
school in connection with their congregation, and in this humble position
he remained for ten years. Other ten were spent in kindred work at Perth ;
but in 1824 he published a book, entitled "The Philosophy of Religion."
This was the first of a series in which scientific discovery was popularised
in the interests of natural and revealed religion. It is enough to run over
the titles — "The Christian Philosopher," The Philosophy of a Future State,"
" Celestial Scenery," and others of similar import. But we recall specially
and with grateful remembrances his volume on " The Improvement of
Society by the Diffusion of Knowledge." Mr Dick received the degree of
LL.D. from Union College, Schenectady, New York. In 1827 he had
removed to the well-known abode in Broughty Ferry where he passed the
remainder of his busy and useful life. He died, 29th July 1857, in the eighty-
third year of his age. Two years before his death he received a pension
of ;^5o from Government. It was long in coming, but it was welcome when
it came. Dr Dick was twice married, first in 1804 to a sister of the Rev.
Andrew ALd\t of Forfar, and second in 1830 to a daughter of the Rev.
Dr Young of Hawick, and the widow of Mr Alexander Davidson, Lecturer
on Scientific subjects {see ^. 456). In the notice of her death in 1840 she
was thus referred to in the public prints : " Well known for her acquisitions
672 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
in experimental philosophy and chemistry, and for the elegance and dexterity!
with which she conducted experiments on these subjects." For a tastefuH
and appreciative biographical notice of Dr Thomas Dick we may refer toj
Hogg's Instructor for 1850. |
Third Minister.— HVGn Heugh. Ordained as colleague to his father,!
14th August 1806, the call being signed by 69 (male) members. At the pre-j
ceding Synod other calls from Hawick and Greenloaning to Mr Heugh camel
up to be disposed of, but when the vote was taken Greenloaning, which was]
scarcely able to support a minister, was first put aside, and then Stirling was I
preferred to Hawick. The senior minister died, i8th September 18 10, in thel
seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-seventh of his ministry. The stipend
of his son and successor in 1 8 1 2 was ^150," with as much fuel as is needed." ]
But Mr Heugh's gifts as a preacher were too much for his contracted spherei
of labour at Stirling, and after two calls from Regent Place, Glasgow, had
been laid aside by the Synod, partly because he was averse to leave his own 1
and his father's congregation, a third call from Glasgow, and another from
Nicolson Street, Edinburgh, came up to be disposed of in September 1821.
The translation to Regent Place carried, but only by a majority of 55 to 52.
At next Synod Stirling joined in the competition for Mr James Whyte, and
secured a small proportion of votes. Their call was signed by 202 members
and 37 adherents.
Fourth Mi?iister. — James Gilfillan, son of the Rev. Samuel GilfiUan,
Comrie. The competition in this case lay between Largs, Brechin (City
Road), and Stirling, two others from Lochwinnoch and Whitehill having
fallen short by the way. Stirling carried without a vote, and Mr Gilfillan
was ordained, 24th December 1822. In 1838 the communicants were about
350, of whom nearly one half were from other parishes, most of these from
St Ninians and Logie, with a very few from Kincardine and Lecropt. The
stipend was ^150, with £ii\ for sundry expenses. On Sabbath, 8th April
i860, a new church was opened, the officiating ministers being Dr Sommer-
ville, Foreign Mission Secretary, Mr Gilfillan himself, and his brother from
Dundee. The cost was ^2000. In 1862 Mr Gilfillan published a standard
work on "The Sabbath," and in 1866 he received the degree of D.D. from
Glasgow University. In June 1869 he intimated to the Presbytery his wish
to demit his charge, believing that for the work of keeping up a third United
Presbyterian church in Stirling youthful energy was required, and though
not opposed in all circumstances to the collegiate relation he was of opinion
that in the present case such an arrangement would be inexpedient. Instead
of a retiring allowance Dr Gilfillan, not willing to be burdensome to the ;
congregation, told them that he would be perfectly satisfied with a single!
payment of ^200, and this was agreed to. On 5th October the pastoral tie]
was dissolved, and Dr Gilfillan removed to Portobello, where he died, 28th ,
January 1874, in the seventy-seventh year of his age and fifty-second of hisi
ministry. In an interesting Memoir by Dr Blair, which appeared in the
magazine soon after, we have Dr Gilfillan as he walked in his father's]
footsteps, "examining as well as visiting his people, beginning the service!
himself on Fast days, abstaining from wearing a gown and from giving out!
paraphrases to be sung in the church." Besides his massive book on the!
Sabbath he left behind him a volume of sermons, published in 1866. j
Fifth Minister.— Alexa^vkr F. Knox, from Glasgow (John Street).!
Having declined Blackswell, Hamilton, Mr Knox was ordained, 27th Sep-
tember 1870. The congregation had previously called Mr John Sellar, whc
chose Sanquhar (South) for his first charge. Mr Knox, after a period oij
struggle with broken health, resigned Viewfield for Australia, and was'
loosed, 28th July 1874, the Presbytery testifying to his gifts and devotednessJ
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 673
Having joined the U:P. Church in Victoria he was on loth May 1875 in-
ducted to Emerald Hill, which had been vacated by the Rev. Hugh Darling
a little before. In May 1876 he became minister of Seymour, but demitted
in the course of a year. He was now in Adelaide for a time, but was re-ad-
mitted by the Synod of Victoria in 1882 on acknowledging that he had acted
irregularly in forming a new congregation at Emerald Hill, the pastorate of
which he afterwards declined. He seems now to have lost his ecclesiastical
bearings, and in June 1884 he withdrew from connection with the Church of
Victoria, and got a certificate of disjunction. He ministered finally to a
small congregation unconnected with any Christian denomination, and died
near Melbourne on 3rd August 1889, in the forty-fifth year of his age and
nineteenth of his ministry. His old people in Stirling on hearing of his
death raised about ^40 for behoof of his widow and family, but the members
of the church to which it was sent had difficulties about accepting the gift
from parties whom they looked on as little better than the heathen. It
betokens the ecclesiastical latitude into which Mr Knox had drifted before
the end.
Sixth Mimster.—W KLT'&R ScOTT, M.A., from Selkirk (First). Ordained,
25th May 1875 The call was signed by 140 members and 31 adherents.
Mainly with the view of improving the acoustics, which were very faulty, a
gallery was erected in the church next year, raising the number of sittings
to 990. The membership at the time of the Union was 205, and the stipend
from the people ^160. There is no manSe, and has never been.
STIRLING, ALLAN PARK (United Presbyterian)
This congregation, like Byron's daughter, was born in bitterness and cradled,
if not nurtured, in convulsion. Mr Steedman, the minister of Erskine
Church, got sick-supply from the Presbytery in the beginning of 1858, and
owing to confirmed asthma his health was never again reliable. Two years
later commissioners from the congregation represented to the Presbytery
that he had been under the necessity of going to the island of Jersey for some
months, and they requested another day's supply from each of the members.
In October i860 Mr Steedman wrote the congregation suggesting a choice
of three alternatives to meet the emergency. They might either go on as
they had been doing, or they might secure a hcutn tenens for a year, or they
might provide a colleague. At a meeting held to consider what was best to
be done a great majority declared in favour of a colleague, and the minority
acquiesced, the present stipend to be reduced at once from ^300 to ^200.
But when the resolution was submitted to the Presbytery Mr Steedman
stated that Professor Christison gave it as his opinion that, if he spent the
winter and spring months in a milder climate, there was reason to hope that
by the month of June he might be able to resume his labours with his health
quite confirmed. The Presbytery thereupon recommended the congregation
to take no further steps towards the choosing of a second minister till this
trial should be made. The advice ought to have commended itself to the
acceptance of the people. Their minister was still several years short of
fifty, and might be excused disliking to face at that early stage the hazards
of a collegiate charge. They declined, however, to wait longer, pleading the
extent and widely-scattered state of the congregation. Mr Steedman having
notified that he ofifered no objections, the Presbytery allowed the moderation
to go on. The majority of votes went to Mr John T. Gowanlock, the other
candidates proposed being Mr John Mitchell" Harvey, afterwards of Alloa,
and Mr Richard Leitch, now of Newcastle, each of whom had a considerable
II. 2 u
674
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
amount of support. Mr Gowanlock stood high among the probationers of
his year, and might have waited on the " List " with safety, but the call was
at once accepted, and the ordination took place on 24th September 1861.
For the first year the entire pulpit work devolved on the junior minister, but
when the two years' leave of absence expired Mr Steedman began to take
his full share of the work, and all went on with comparative smoothness till
December 1863. Then a question as to the faithfulness of the statistical
returns for the two preceding years was introduced into the Presbytery, with
a request for investigation. Much that emerged was pronounced "not
important enough to occupy the time of the Court," and the whole matter
might be summed up by saying that while those on the one side were bent
on minimising the increase of membership under the young minister, those
on the other were resolved to make the most of it. The Presbytery thought
to end the disturbance by declaring that, so far as the schedules were con-
cerned, both parties had been actuated by thorough honesty, a decision in
which a majority of the elders and managers refused to acquiesce. These
represented the party hostile to Mr Steedman, but there must have been
roots of bitterness deeper down.
A minister on applying for admission to the U.P. Church some years
after this complained of the Congregationalist system allowing democratic
interference with ministers in ways detrimental to their peace, comfort, and
usefulness. In a step which a party in Erskine Church took at this time we
have a specimen of the extent to which a Presbyterian congregation may
trespass on similar lines. One Sabbath, when Mr Steedman was away
assisting at a communion, the session arranged between services to call a
congregational meeting for the following evening, " to promote the peace
and prosperity of the congregation." The party opposed to Mr Steedman,
finding themselves in the majority, carried a resolution declaring that the
senior minister's usefulness was at an end, and that he should be asked ta
resign, and appointing a committee to arrange with him as to the terms.
To deal with this abnormal state of affairs the Presbytery was summoned to
meet pro re nata, when Mr Steedman read a memorial bearing on the
treatment he had been receiving. He also stated that a paper had been
already signed by 419 members and adherents requesting him to remain in
his charge, a number nearly four times as great as that of those who voted
for his removal. The Presbytery unanimously pronounced the conduct of
the congregation most irregular in itself, and unkind to their senior minister,
and six of the leaders were to be summoned before them to answer for their
conduct. At next meeting the parties appeared, tabled a protest against
the Presbytery proceeding further with this case, appealed to the Synod, and
left the room. Six months now intervened, during which the two parties
worshipped together, and the two colleagues shared the pulpit work between
them.
At the Synod in May 1865 a multiplicity of papers was given in from
Stirling with intertangled protests, and the case in its various phases under-
went long discussion, preceded by longer pleadings ; but, though four
motions were made on the main point, it was declared by an absolute
majority that the proceedings at the foresaid congregational meeting werej
"unconstitutional, disorderly, and reprehensible." Mr Steedman was also-
sympathised with, and a committee was to be appointed to seek the healing 1
of divisions in Erskine Church. It was an object worth attempting ; but the]
cleavage was too wide to be got over, and, though Mr Steedman and hisj
friends acceded to certain terms of accommodation proposed, the other partyi
were unyielding, and on 7th November 1865 they presented a petitioaj
signed by 283 members and 103 adherents to be formed into a separate;!
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 675
congregation. This step had been approved of by a majority of the Synod's
committee, and the severance was agreed to on 2nd January 1866. Mr
Gowanlock had aheady expressed his full concurrence in the petition for a
disjunction, and even Mr Steedman was satisfied that the strife must, sooner
or later, end in separation.
At the head of the party that went to form Allan Park congregation
there were, besides the junior minister, thirteen elders and thirteen managers.
The entire membership was put at 675 before the colleagueship was formed,
so that we may compute the number who withdrew at fully two-fifths
of the whole, but having among them the money power in an inverse
proportion. On the following Sabbath they worshipped in a public hall, and
continued to meet there till Monday, 21st October 1867, when their new
church, with 750 sittings, was opened by the Rev. Dr King of London. The
collection that day amounted to ;^8ii. The buildings cost ^5000, which
was all cleared off within three years, without aid either from bazaar or
central funds. In 1879 the stipend was ^410, fully more than both
ministers received before the Disruption. In the year of the Union the
membership was almost 400, and the stipend as before.
BRIDGE OF TEITH (Burgher)
This congregation included at the outset, according to their own records,
all the dissenters "in the parishes of Kilmadock, Callander, Dunblane,
Lecropt, and part of Port." There had been stray accessions from that
district for years, and on 17th July 1740 the elders among them were con-
stituted into a session by Ebenezer Erskine. These were six in number,
and a leet of candidates was that day given in from the Praying Societies
within the bounds, which resulted on 3rd September in the ordination of
seven others. Next February a further accession of five elders and aljout
50 private persons was followed by a petition for supply of preaching, with a
representation of their clamant circumstances. Though provided with a
session of their own, they still formed part of Mr Erskine's congregation, and
very rarely had sermon for themselves. At such times Thornhill village
was the usual place of meeting, but on i8th September 1743 the seat of the
congregation was removed to Bridge of Teith, three miles to the north-east,
and there the church was built, overlooking the river from the south side. In
1746 the elders reported that, as appointed, they had traversed each his
own district to ascertain whether there was ripeness for a moderation,
and they found the people desirous that it be brought about as soon as
possible.
First Minister. — David Telfar, of whom we only know that he was
born within Monteith bounds. Licensed in May 1746, and ordained at
Bridge of Teith, 19th March 1747. It was a troublous time, and ten days
afterwards Mr Telfar informed his session that at the approaching Synod
the question was to come up : Should the Act condemning the Burgess
Oath be made a term of ministerial and Christian communion ? and he
wished their advice as to how he should vote in the circumstances. The
session were unanimously of opinion that their minister and representative
elder should go against the above proposition, unless its concord with the
Scriptures of truth should be more clearly made good. This promised
harmony at Bridge of Teith, but when the crisis came the congregation
did not steer clear of disaster. In 1749 the session was so much reduced
by deaths, and " by the awful Breach in the Associate Synod," that a new
election of elders was required. We find besides that the Antiburgher
676 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
congregation of Stirling drew a considerable part of its strength from within
the territories of Monteith. But there was now the probability that Mr
Telfar might be removed to another sphere of labour. He must have been
an acceptable preacher, and vacancies far and near believed him to be
transportable. In 1749 he was called to Ballybay, in Ireland; a year
after to Auchtermuchty ; in 1755 to Torphichen, and to Donaghcloney,
another congregation in Ireland; and in 1756 to Donaghcloney again, and
also to Kennoway. The Synod each time determined that he should remain
at Bridge of Teith, where affairs were about to have a more promising
development.
In 1757 there was an extensive disruption in the Parish Church of Dun-
blane, as will be narrated at the proper place, and after a time the new
seceders there set about coalescing with their brethren in Bridge of Teith,
four and a half miles distant, and placing themselves under Mr Telfar's
ministry. The terms of agreement were that the minister should preach at
the two places alternately, and that they should contribute equally for his
support. They were also to form one congregation under a conjunct
session, which should meet alternately at Dunblane and Bridge of Teith,
but cases of discipline in the one place were not to be intimated from the
pulpit of the other, as that would only give scandal needless publicity. But
the arrangement could not be more than temporary, and in 1765, under
pressure from Dunblane, it came to an end. Formed into a distinct con-
gregation the people there began by calling Mr Telfar ; but though the call
was backed by 350 signatures the Synod once more decided against
translation, and next year they missioned him to America, where a great
part of his ministry was to be spent.
We read in Bridge of Teith session Minutes for i6th February 1766 that
another moderated : " In regard, Mr David Telfar, our minister, had gone off
for Philadelphia, in America, by appointment of Synod." The pastoral tie
between him and them was meanwhile to remain unbroken, and on ist
November 1767 it is entered that he had arrived safely home. When away
a union, in which he took an active part, had been effected between the two
sections of Seceders in America, and when the Antiburgher Synod met in
April 1768 Mr Telfar repaired to Edinburgh, and wrote them that he would
be glad to give them full information on the subject if they were disposed
for peace and agreement, but the answer he got was that they could hold
no correspondence with him except in the way of receiving satisfaction for
the offences which led to his deposition in connection with the Burgess
Oath. But Dr M'Kerrow, who was in a good position to know, ascertained
that Mr Telfar brought home with him more than the terms of agreement
between the Burghers and Antiburghers. He was accompanied by an
American wife, who never settled down contented on the banks of the
Teith. Her heart turned incessantly towards the vast forests and majestic
rivers of the West. The result was that Mr Telfar might not be unwilling
to accept the Synod's appointment in April 1771 to return to Philadelphia,
where he became pastor of a church in Shippen Street.
In August 1780 Mr Telfar passed over to the Reformed Presbyterians,
taking his congregation with him. He joined in the formation of the
Associate Reformed Church in 1782, and six years afterwards he retired!
from the ministry. On 29th April 1789 he died in Philadelphia, and wasi
laid in the burying-place connected with his old church there. A few months |
later an extract of a letter from New York appeared in the Evening Courant ,
with the following particulars : — " He had just drunk a dish of tea with his
family, when he was seized with a violent fit of coughing, and expired im-,
mediately. He came over to Philadelphia twenty-three years ago, and
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 677
preached to a congregation there without a stipend. His wife had a good
business, and his family are left in affluent circumstances." According to
another American authority he was very acceptable as a preacher, but rather
vacillating in principle.
Second Minister. — WiLLlAM FLETCHER, from Ettrick, where the Burghers
had a preaching station. In September 1770 Mr Fletcher had two competing
calls laid before the Synod — one from Glasgow, which was opposed by a large
minority, and the other from Burntshields, which in the circumstances was
preferred. However, as he expressed strong aversion to being settled
among them, the congregation asked the Presbytery to allow the call to
drop. Bridge of Teith now came in, where he was ordained, 25th March
1772, the call being signed by 242 members. The provision made for the
minister's support was slight, the congregation stating in 1784 that they
gave Mr Fletcher ^45 per annum in cash, and the Presbytery told them
in reply that the money stipend was too small. But the language suggests
support in other forms, a system specially common in agricultural districts.
When Mr Fraser of Auchtermuchty brought up his Overture to the Burgher
Synod in 1795 for an alteration of the Formula on the subject of the
magistrate's power, Mr Fletcher was one of two ministers who wished
the door barred against any such proposal. As the Controversy went on
he kept consistently by the conservative side. It was a question on which
he had indirectly expressed himself in a pamphlet published in 1784, en-
titled "The Scriptural Loyalist," and again, eleven years later, in "The
Scriptural Loyalist Defended." Though it was rather the principles of the
Old Cameronians that he was in conflict with, the subject had a bearing
on the question that was now in agitation nearer home. This brings us to
the equivocal ground Mr Fletcher took up in the end.
Several members of Synod had now renounced connection, but Mr
Fletcher, instead of following their example, published a pamphlet on "The
Evil and Danger of Schism." Though unchanged in his views he could
not see that the adoption of the Preamble was important enough to neces-
sitate separation, and he was not prepared to incur the guilt of schism by
breaking away from his brethren. This, however, did not prevent a large
body of his people, including four elders, breaking away from under his
ministry. He had indoctrinated them with Old Light principles, and Mr
Taylor of Levenside tells that, when he was challenged by the assistant
ministers at Bridge of Teith for coming out against threatened innovations
on a communion Monday, Mr Fletcher approved of what he had done, and
expressed the wish that his flock had such doctrine preached to them
every Sabbath. But now minister and people were to reap the fruits of
separation. Sermon was obtained from the Original Burgher Presbytery
in 1800, and an opposition church set up, which furnished as many as 127
signatures to a subsequent call, and the mother congregation was so
much weakened that the Synod, at the request of the Presbytery, granted
them a donation of ^15, assigning as the reason that they were at present
in a confused state. In 1802 aid had to be repeated, and the people called
on to exert themselves by extraordinary collections for the support of their
minister.
The other party had more trying fortunes all along. They began in
1806 with the promise of ^60 and a house to their minister; but in three
years they were falling far behind, and the pastoral relation was dissolved.
In the call to their second minister they made a fair appearance, 140
members subscribing, and for some time they made the stipend ^90,
including house rent ; but in less than seven years the minister demitted
his charge, left the denomination, and went to Canada, where he liecame
678 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
an Episcopal clergyman. The third minister, the Rev. Thomas Hyslop, was
inducted in 1824, and, with his congregation, joined the Church of Scotland
in 1839, and left at the Disruption. When he retired in 1871 the members
were formally united with the other Free church in Doune, but about 20
returned to Bridge of Teith, and a few went over to the Establishment. Mr
Hyslop died, 9th September 1879, ^^ his little ivy-covered, nest-like abode
near the Bridge, in the ninetieth year of his age and sixty-third of his
ministry. He was a son of the Rev. Ebenezer Hyslop of Shotts, and
acquired some notoriety in his first charge at Kirkcaldy by raising an
action against his people for arrears of stipend.
Third Minister. — Alexander Fletcher, ordained as colleague to his
father, i6th September 1807. Called besides to Leslie (now Trinity) and
Stow, but the Synod favoured Bridge of Teith, partly from family con-
siderations, and partly in kindness to a weakened cause. As for stipend,
the son was to receive ^80, and a free house, should he have occasion for
it, besides twenty carts of coal yearly. His father was to continue in receipt
of ^60 a year, with manse and garden. But young Mr Fletcher was not
to be long confined either to Bridge of Teith or to his early home. The
Synod, indeed, in 18 10 forbade his removal to Kincardine, but in September
of next year the pressing claims of Miles Lane, London, prevailed, and his
translation was agreed to. Up till now this congregation had made little
progress, and, though they promised a stipend of .^300, the present call was
signed by only 128 members. But under Mr Fletcher it was not long in
entering on a course of high prosperity. In the first instance, however, his
old people at Bridge of Teith invited him back to be his father's colleague,
but they withdrew their call, from having no hope of success. Before long
more accommodation was needed in London, and Albion Chapel was finished
in 1 8 16 at a cost of ^9000, with 1000 sittings, and thither the bulk of the
congregation removed with their minister. Owing, however, to an unhappy
turn of affairs Mr Fletcher's connection with the United Secession Church
was brought to an end at the Synod in May 1825. The case stirred a world
of talk at the time, and cannot be entirely passed over. Instability of
affection led him to play fast and loose, it was believed, with a marriage
engagement, renewed after it had been broken off, and, though public
opinion ran strongly in his favour, the verdict went against him not only
in a unanimous Synod but in a Civil Court. Albion Chapel had now to be
surrendered, but what in itself was a misfortune proved a stepping-stone
to greater things. In 1826 Finsbury Church, in the same neighbourhood,
with sittings for 3000, took the place of Albion, and Mr Fletcher's pulpit
gifts attracted corresponding audiences. Recognised now as a power in
ecclesiastical London he received the degree of D.D. from Delaware Col-
lege, U.S.A., in 1845, and at the Synod in May 1849 ^^ ^^^'^ restored to
ministerial fellowship with the Church of his fathers. During those twenty-
four intervening years he had been out of ecclesiastical connection, and,
as his congregation remained in its former state of aloofness, its minister
could not regain his seat in the Church Courts, though welcome to U.P.
pulpits. Dr Fletcher died, 30th September i860, in the seventy-fourth year
of his age and fifty-fourth of his ministry. Space will not permit us to go
over even the titles of the published sermons and other writings, of which
the best known is his "Guide to Family Devotion." We close by referring
to the Biographical Sketch of Dr Fletcher by Dr Blair of Dunblane, under
the expressive title : " The Prince of Preachers to the Young."
Fourth Minister.— Jon's M'Kerrow, from Mauchline. The Synod
having preferred Bridge of Teith to Ecclefechan Mr" M'Kerrow was or-
dained, 25th August 1813. The call was signed by 230 members, and the
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 679
stipend was to be ^100 meanwhile. He became sole pastor in 181 5, Mr
Fletcher having died on 7th April of that year, in the forty-fourth year of
his ministry. The tombstone erected to his memory by Dr Fletcher makes
his age ninety, but it was given in the Scots Magazine at the time as
eighty-three. It was stated in a brief Memoir in the Christian Repository
that, having gone to Stirling to attend a meeting of the Bible and Missionary
Society, he was seized with fever, and died there. His illness must have
been brief, as the inscription on the tombstone records that he preached on
the preceding Sabbath. Mrs Fletcher was a sister of the Rev. Michael
Gilfillan of Dunblane, and a woman of energetic character. With a large
family to be provided for she supplemented her husband's meagre stipend
by the manufacturing of thread, turning Bridge of Teith manse into a
beehive of busy activity. Another of their sons was Robert, who ministered
for some years in Hamilton (now Avon Street), and one of their daughters
was the wife of the Rev. John Brown of Whitburn by a second marriage,
and her name has honourable mention through her children and their
descendants.
In 1837 Mr M'Kerrow took the leading part in preparing the Life of
Dr Belfrage of Falkirk, and in 1841 he received the degree of D.D. from
Washington College, U.S.A. But this was the year in which the work was
published by which he is best known — "The History of the Secession
Church," a faithful record of the growth and progress of the denomination
during the previous century of its existence. The style contrasts unfavour-
ably with the racy vigour of Dr Struthers and the tasteful finish of Dr
Andrew Thomson, but there is compensation in the closeness with which
the writer adheres to authentic documents. In 1846 Dr M'Kerrow gained
the prize of ^^50 for an able treatise on " The Office of Ruling Elder in the
Christian Church," and on 25th August 1863, the day on which he completed
the fiftieth year of his ministry, his jubilee was celebrated, when he was
presented with 600 sovereigns. As his last service to the denomination he
wrote a " History of the Foreign Missions of the U.P. Church," which was
published a few days before his death. It was work for which he was
specially qualified, having for many years conducted gratuitously the corre-
spondence of the Foreign Mission Committee. The Synod of 1867 was now
approaching, at which he intended to take part, but on the evening of 13th
May, the day on which it was opened, he passed away. He was in the
seventy-seventh year of his age and fifty-fourth of his ministry.
Fifth Minister. — Willi A}>1 HuiE, from Campbeltown, Argyllshire.
Called to be Dr M'Kerrow's colleague, but ordained, 25th July 1867, as his
successor. On Sabbath, 6th July 1890, the church was reopened by Principal
Cairns after undergoing extensive and costly alterations. The liberality
displayed in this connection brought out the hold which Bridge of Teith
still has on the surrounding country after the lapse of 1 50 years, and the
respect entertained for their fifth minister. The congregation at the be-
ginning of 1900 had a membership of 224, and the stipend from the people
was ^174, with the manse.
ALLOA, TOWNHEAD (Antiburgher)
On loth October 1738 the whole of the Praying Societies in this parish
acceded to the Associate Presbytery. They took strong ground at the very
first, declaring that they withdrew not only from all who were carrying on a
course of defection in the Established Church but also from those who were
sinfully silent. Other accessions followed from Alloa, along with Logic and
68o
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Tillicoultry, and also from a Praying Society in Clackmannan. But beyond
a day of fasting sermon was not yet applied for, the distance to Stirling not
being reckoned formidable in early times. Thus matters continued for
years, with the exception of week-day services, conducted on one occasion
by Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine at Gartlet, in the Clackmannan district.
On 1 2th June 1744 the seceders in Alloa petitioned to be disjoined from
Stirling, and on i6th May 1745 this was agreed to by the Synod. We find
that at this time the congregation had elders sufficient to constitute a session,
but we cannot ascertain how many there were or what was the strength of
the membership. The place of worship is believed to have been built in
1747, theyear of the Breach. Alloa might have been expected to go with
Ebenezer Erskine at that time, but instead of this they took the Antiburgher
side, and the minority, if such there were, would resume their former con-
nection with Stirling.
First Minister. — William Moncrieff, son of the Rev. Alexander
MoncriefFof Abernethy. Ordained, 14th March 1749, when he had scarcely
reached his majority. In August following the parish was thrown into
commotion about the appointment of a minister ; but after a struggle of fifteen
months Patronage prevailed, and Mr James Syme, the maternal grandfather
of Lord Brougham, was ordained, 21st November 1750, a guard of soldiers
being within reach to prevent disturbance. In connection with the serving
of the edict there had been riotous proceedings, for which several of the
ringleaders were punished to the extent of banishment beyond seas.
The presentee is said to have secured the respect of the parish after all ;
but he died in the beginning" of 1753, and how far his settlement conduced
to the increase of the Secession congregation in Alloa is only matter of
conjecture. In 1762 Mr Moncrieff was chosen to succeed his father as
Professor of Theology, an office which he held for twenty-four years.
During that period the students met in Alloa for three months in spring or
early summer ; but the censor's book shows that in most cases the session
was grievously cut down, some coming up late, and others leaving to open
their schools ere the time was half over. Five years before Mr MoncriefFs
death the congregation made an effort to secure his son Alexander as his
colleague and successor. Though their minister was little over fifty they
pleaded "the hardships which he and they laboured under through his
being employed a fourth part of the year in teaching the students." They
also stated their belief that a proper fund could be raised among them for
the support of another minister. On receiving licence Mr Alexander
Moncrieff was sent to supply Alloa and Muckart, and at next meeting of
Stirling Presbytery both congregations applied for a moderation. The calls
were brought up together, that from Muckart signed by 187 male members,"
or 16 more than the one from Alloa. In May 1782 the Synod decided in
favour of Muckart by a great majority.
The Minutes of session for the early part of Mr MoncriefiPs ministry have
been preserved, and to them we are indebted for sundry specimens of Anti-
burgher ways. At an election of elders in 1750 three questions were to be
put to the candidates before the leet was made out : (i) Do you keep up
worship in your family morning and evening ? (2) Are you a member of a
Praying Society ? and (3) Will you embrace the first opportunity of entering
into the bond for renewing the Covenants ? On this last point some had
difficulties, and when the solemn work was first engaged in two of the eight
elders held back, but professed to be " lying open to light," and in course of
time they saw their way to meet the requirements. At this early stage we
also get an example of the rigid care with which the fringes of the Sabbath
were guarded from secular encroachments. One of the elders-elect had
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 68i
given offence two years before by buying a halfpennyworth of snuff on the
sacred day. This was now brought up against him, and having made full
acknowledgment he was rebuked, and his ordination delayed. The con-
tention would be that in such a case it was the principle that ruled and not
the extent of the purchase. There is reference also to a female member
who, for a flagrant scandal, had to appear seven times before the congregation
to be rebuked—the only instance I have met with in old Secession records
in which censure was so persistently inflicted. In another entry we get
a side view of the Mason Oath. The person who had taken it admitted
that he swore to keep something secret before he knew what it was, that
some things he swore to keep secret were trifling and beneath the solemnity
of an oath, and specially an oath with a capital penalty annexed. There
were also ceremonies gone through similar to those narrated under Oakshaw
Street, Paisley. He was rebuked, with certification that if he attended any
meeting at which this Oath was administered he would make himself liable
to higher censure. Was this action of the session improper or uncalled
for .''
In the spring of 1786 Mr Moncrieff was unable to meet with the students
so that there was a blank session, and on the 14th of August (not the 4th as
given on the tombstone) he died, in the fifty-seventh year of his age and
thirty-eighth of his ministry. Mr Moncrieff was the author of an essay on
National Covenanting, and two of his sermons are appended to a collection
of his father's practical works. His family consisted of three sons and nine
daughters, of whom a son and daughter died in infancy. Of the eight sur-
viving daughters, five were married to Antiburgher ministers— viz Drs
Jerment of London and Stark of Dennyloanhead, Messrs Taylor of Ayr
Stuart of Falkirk, and Blair of Cairnevhill. '
Second Mints fer.—] ames Muckersie, son of the Rev. John Muckersie
of Kinkell, and grandson of the Rev. William Wilson of Perth The
moderation was granted in the face of a petition from 30 members for delay,
and though no other name was mentioned at the election 16 voted No
The call was signed by 145 (male) members, but there was a minority
petitioning the Presbytery to set it aside, the plea being " that his gifts do
not edify them as they could wish." At first Mr Muckersie laboured under
difficulties about accepting, and after his trial exercises had been all sus-
tained three or four of the congregation took a protest against the settlement,
and though the protest was withdrawn the leader reserved the right to state
objections when the edict was served. He was better advised, however,
and the ordination took place on 21st P^bruary 1788, nine months after the
call was issued. It illustrates what ministers of mark may have had to face
on their way to distinction. In 1792 the second church was built at Town-
head, with 680 sittings, a good part of the cost being borne by the Earl of
Mar as the price of removal. But the congregation under Mr Muckersie's
pastorate seems to have grown every way. His stipend at first was what
his predecessor received-^70 a year, with horse hire, but no house.
I wenty years afterwards it was ^140, and in 1822 it was raised to /:i8o.
1 he only decided encroachment on the communion roll was in 1797, when
the families from Tillicoultry and Alva were disjoined and formed into a
distinct congregation. In 1824 steps were taken to provide Mr Muckersie
with a colleague. A regular supply of preachers was obtained, but after a
time the request was fallen from. Then a hearing of a particular probationer
I was obtained, and this led to a harmonious settlement
I T/itrd Mims/er.—?ETER M'Dowall, M.A., from Stranraer (Ivy Place)
rhe call, signed by 217 members and 60 seat-holders, came up to the Synod
m competition with another from Buckhaven, but Mr M'Dowall "gave his
682
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
opinion decidedly in favour of Alloa," and he was sent thither without a
vote. The ordination took place on 21st February 1826, and on 8th March
1827 Mr Muckersie died, in the sixty-seventh year of his age and fortieth of;
his ministry. In a letter addressed to his widow Dr Heugh speaks of the
suddenness and the severity of the blow, and refers to the departed as his
oldest and earliest friend in the ministry. Ur Eadie, in his Life of William
Wilson of Perth, brings Mr Muckersie up graphically before us, with his
portly aspect, and his broad, expressive countenance. As a preacher
mention is made of "his ingenuity in extracting so many racy deductions,
so many happy and unexpected inferences from the passage of discourse"
under consideration. Mr Muckersie's daughter was married to her cousin,
the Rev. Andrew Ferrier of Airdrie, ultimately Dr Ferrier of Caledonia,
Canada West. Four years after becoming sole pastor Mr M'Dowall was
invited to Oxendon, London, but he was too wise to be overcome by the
fallacious attractions of the great metropolis. At the Synod in May 1831,.
when the translation was pleaded for, the purport of his speech may be
inferred from the fact that the Synod, without a contradictory voice, con-
tinued him in Alloa, and in his charge there he went on earnestly and
successfully during a long ministerial course.
In 1838 the communicants were placed at 630, of whom about 100 were
from Clackmannan parish, and a few from Tillicoultry and Alva. The fixed
stipend was ^160, with manse and garden. The meeting-house had been
enlarged during the preceding year to furnish sitting accommodation for
722. In February 185 1 the present church, with sittings for 988, and built
at a cost of nearly ^2300, was opened with only ^600 of debt, which was
entirely cleared away in 1862. Towards the end of 1861 Mr M'Dowall,
owing to declining years, suggested the obtaining of a colleague, that the
interests of the congregation might be fully attended to. This was sym-
pathetically acquiesced in.
Fourth Mi7iister. — Adam Scott AL\theson, from Jedburgh (Black-
friars). His stipend was to be ^200, with the manse, and that of the senior
minister ^250, as before. Ordained, 26th November 1862. In 1871 Mr
Matheson was called to Sydney Place, Glasgow, to be colleague to Dr John
Ker, but declined. However, on 23rd July 1873 he was loosed from Alloa
on accepting a call to Bootle, Liverpool, from which he was translated to
Claremont Church, Glasgow, in 1877. In 1874 Townhead congregation
called Mr John G. Train to be their junior minister, but he preferred
Buckhaven.
Fifth Minister. — Daniel M'Lean, B.D., from Largs, like the Rev. Daniel
M'Lean of Lanark, though not a kinsman. Ordained as Mr M'Dowall's
second colleague, 29th October 1874, after having declined St Andi'ews and
Dunfermline (Gillespie Church). In February 1876 Mr M'Dowall's jubilee
was fitly celebrated, and on nth April he intimated to the Presbytery that,
owing to failing health, he had decided to leave the entire charge of the
pulpit and the congregation to his colleague, and that his people had unani-
mously voted him a retiring allowance of ^200. Mr M'Lean's stipend was
now raised from ^350 to ^450. Mr M'Dowall died, loth September 1878,
in the seventy-ninth year of his age and fifty-third of his ministry. At the
close of 1899 Townhead Church had a membership of 751, and the stipend
w^s £s7°j but no manse.
ALLOA, WEST (Burgher)
On 1 6th April 1765 the Burgher Presbytery of Perth and Dunfermline
received a petition and representation from several people in the town and
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 683
parish of Alloa bearing an adherence to Reformation principles, and craving
supply of sermon. The Presbytery agreed at once to receive them under
their mspection, and the redoubtable Alexander Pirie of Abernethy was
appomted to preach there on the fourth Sabbath of that month. From the
hrst they were recognised as a vacant congregation, and on 14th May 1766
they had two elders ordained over them. The church, which did service
tor nearly a century, was finished about this time, with sittings, at least ulti-
mately, for 640, and in March 1767 a call was issued in favour of Mr James
Uunie probationer; but he was already on trials for ordination at Dundee
(bchool Wynd), and the Presbytery, considering that that congregation had
the tirst claim, decided accordingly. A protest was taken by the com-
missioners from Alloa, but the Synod confirmed the Presbytery's decision
without a vote.
First yl//«/j/^r.— Thomas Waters, from Dalkeith (now Buccleuch
Street). In May 1767 Mr Waters, who had recently got licence, was
missioned to America ; but at next Synod he pleaded indisposition, and the
matter is never again heard of. Ordained, 19th April 1769, the stipend
promised being ^50. On that day the Antiburgher congregation in the
town had Fast day services, and the session dealt some time after with one
o\ their members for absenting himself from the observance. He pleaded
that he looked on it as a Fast for strife and debate, and the session urged in
their own defence that, though the ordination furnished ground for humilia-
tion, remembering the opposition the Burgher partv had made to the Lord's
cause, still that was not intended in the making of the appointment. Under
the ministry of Mr Waters everything seems to have gone smoothly on till the
Uld Light Controversy arose, and made a serious breach in the congregation
About a year after the Original Burgher Presbytery was formed they
received an accession from a number of people in Tullibody— a place two
miles west of Alloa-and this was followed by an application for sermon
trom a more formidable body of people in the town itself The extent to
which the communion roll of the West Church was cut down at this time
may be inferred from the fact that one of the calls given by the partv who
left was signed by 310 members and 160 adherents. But Alloa was a grow-
ing place, and the lost ground might be gradually regained. Mr Waters
died, I St May 1809, in the seventy-fourth year of his age and forty-first of
his ministry. '
Second Minister.— \N\\AAK^\ Fraser, who had been ordained at Crail
SI.X years before. Transferred to Alloa by the Synod in May 18 10, and
inducted on 7th June thereafter. This call differed little in numbers from
that of the Old Light congregation given above. Mr Fraser, as befitted a
great-grandson of Ralph Erskine, interested himself greatly like his brother,
IJr 1- raser of Kennoway, m Secession antiquities. But meanwhile the work
of his own church went on, and in 181 1 the place of worship was reseated
at a cost of about ^450. A few years later a manse was built, which, with
Its appendages, involved an outlay of other ^600. In 1838 the communicants
were upwards of 400, and the stipend was ^125, with sundry allowances,
besides the manse and garden. The debt at this time amounted to /646
In the latter part of his ministry Mr Fraser was oftener than once involved
in controversy. First, he published a pamphlet, entitled " Candid Reasons
tor not joining Temperance Societies," a question on which he and his
co-Presbyter in Alloa, the Rev. Peter M'Dowall, were diametrically opposed
It was not that Mr Fraser set himself against the principles involved- it
was only that he wished them merged in something broader and more
sacred. When the Atonement Controversy was raging he was active on
the conservative side, taking part in the Synodical discussions, and his
L
684 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
" Three Sermons on the Nature and Extent of the Atonement " brought
him into keen coUision with the Rev. Alexander Rutherford of Falkirk.
The contention was so sharp between them that the Presbytery interposed,
and found both parties blameworthy. Mr Fraser's " Manual for Christian
Parents" is on more catholic lines, and helps us to a better conception
of the man.
In 185 1 the congregation called Mr David M'Ewan to be Mr Fraser's
colleague and successor ; but he accepted Cathcart Street, Ayr, and in
1852 they called Mr John M'Farlane, but, unwisely for himself, he gave
Albion Chapel, London, the preference.*
Third Minister. — John More, son of the Rev. John More of Cairney-
hill, and grandson of Professor Paxton. Accepted Alloa in preference to
Longridge and Troon, and was ordained as Mr Fraser's colleague, 20th
April 1853. The call was subscribed by 162 members and 51 adherents,
and the stipend was meanwhile to be ;^I20. The senior minister was to
have j^jo, and the manse ; but he died on 3rd September following, in the
seventy-fourth year of his age and fifty-first of his ministry, leaving a son,
the Rev. Henry Erskine Eraser of North Shields, afterwards of Langside,
Glasgow. Mr More, owing to failure of health, spent the winter of 1859
in Algiers, from which he returned in the early summer to resume work
on alternate Sabbaths, when his first sermon was from the iext : " The
Lord hath chastened me sore, but He hath not given me over to death."
When the inclement season was coming on he had again to seek shelter
in Algiers, where he landed, ist November i860. For a little all looked
well, but on the evening of the loth, after he had conducted family worship,
and lain down in bed, a blood-vessel burst near the heart, and with a brief
prayer on his lips he entered into rest. A tender tribute to his memory
appeared soon after in the U.P. Magazine from the pen of his brother-in-
law, Mr W. J. Slowan, Glasgow. He was in the thirty-first year of his age
and eighth of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — John Mitchell Harvey, M.A., from Wellington
Street, Glasgow. At the moderation Mr Harvey had 106 votes against 62
for Mr Richard Leitch, now of Newcastle. Ordained, 24th December 1861.
Dechned a call to be colleague to the Rev. George M. Middleton, St
Vincent Street, Glasgow, in 1864, but accepted College Street, Edinburgh,
on 9th July 1867. A new church, with sittings for 630, and erected at a cost
of i^37oo? was opened three years before this by Dr Cairns of Berwick.
Fifth Minister. — John Young, translated from Ford, where he had
been ordained five years before, and inducted to Alloa, 30th June 1868.
The stipend was now ^250. Loosed, 3rd February 1874, on accepting
a call to Greenock (now Trinity Church).
Sixth Minister. — William Thomson, from Cathedral Street, Glasgow,
but a native of Stonehouse. Declined a call to Stranraer (West), and was
ordained at Alloa, 27th October 1874. Mr Thomson died, 26th September
1887, in the forty-fourth year of his age and thirteenth of his ministry. At
the end of that year there were 463 names on the communion roll, and the
population of the town and parish was much on the increase.
Sevettth Minister. — Robert Mackenzie, M.A., previously of the
Livingstone Memorial Church, Blantyre, where he had been ordained in
* John M'Farlane, B.A., was from Regent Place, Glasgow. Ordained to Albion
Chapel, London, 26th January 1853. Tired of struggling against an adverse tide
he resigned, 8th March 1858. He then changed his denominational connection, and
was inducted to a Congregational church in Maidenhead. On 23rd March 1881 he
died in the vestry of Bonnyrigg Free Church, when about to deliver a lecture. He
was in the fifty-fourth year of his age and twenty-ninth of his ministry.
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING
68 =
1880 Inducted to Alloa, 28th June 1888. The West Church in the year
of the Union had a membership approaching 650, and the stipend was
-6350, vvith the manse. f ^^
GREENLOANING (Antiburgher)
The hamlet of Greenloaning was originally in the parish of Dunblane, and
not far from the boundaries of Muthil and Blackford, but in 1834 it was
included in the ^uoad sacra parish of Ardoch. The church, with sittings for
200, was built mi 752 the year with which the records of Perth and
Dunfermline Antiburgher Presbytery commence. Strathallan, the name
the station then bore, was supplied at that time as a distant branch of
Kinke 1 congregation. This continued till the close of 1754, and from that
time there IS a blank of nearly five years in the minutes In 1759, when
we get hold of the broken thread, Strathallan is in coalescence with Comrie
Ihe hrst minister during his brief course of four months preached at the
two places alternately, though they are thirteen miles apart. Soon after
Mr Ferguson's death Strathallan consented to a severance from Comrie
and was to receive sermon by itself. In April 1764 a call to Mr Patrick
Buchanan signed by 50 (male) members was preferred by the Synod to
another from Pathstruie, and there was the prospect of a speedy ordination
However, another call supervened from Nigg, to which Mr Buchanan a year
after was appointed, without a contradictory voice, owing to his possession
of the Gaelic language. There had been doubts about granting a rnodera
t.on to Strathallan, but the difficulty was lessened by the Antiburj^her
families about Monteith, who had withdrawn from Bridtre of Teith in
consequence of the Breach, agreeing to form part of Strathallan congrega-
tion till they should be able to support a gospel ministry for themselves
It was further arranged in 1763 that there should be sermon occasionally
at Dunblane six miles to the south of Greenloaning, and about an eaual
distance to the north-east of Monteith, and it came to this, that sermon
was kept up for years in nearly equal proportions at the three places In
February 1768 a call was brought out to Mr David Wilson, who finished
his trials that same day for ordination at Lauder, and the Presbytery of
Edinburgh went straight forward. This call was signed by 6; (male)
members and 18 adherents, but Stirling Presbytery desisted from the
prosecution. ^
First Afimsfer.-TiiOMAS RussELL, whom the Presbytery of Glasgow
had previously loosed from Colmonell, where he had ministered for nine
years, but with inadequate support. This cleared the way for his removal
to Greenloaning into which he was inducted, 13th July 1769. The arrantre-
ment was that his Sabbath labours were to be dfvid'ed between Greenloanbg
and Dunblane, but that he was to preach five Sabbaths each year 7t
Monteith, or rather Thornhill that place to have further supph/as the
Presbytery might be able to afford it. This adjustment led in a few years
cP J .u""" dissatisfaction, Greenloaning people insisting on having 26
Sabbaths out of the 52. They were also deeply aggrieved at Dunblane
having a monopoly of Fast d^y services. The PrfsVery attempted Ey
cornpromises to smooth matters down, but one committee after another
had to report that "all parties adhered 'to their own view?' Ma ters were
further complicated by the Thornhill section of the congregation refusine
to give up the collections taken on the Sabbaths they had sermon and at
last the Presbytery deemed it better to grant them d sjunctions ^h^n keen
them in fellowship with Greenloaning and Dunblane aginst heir wiU Bu?
686
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Mr Russell, the minister, now took the case by appeal to the Synod, and
the Presbytery's decision was upset. Confusion now became worse con-
founded, and in the end the families about Thornhill were allowed taJ
connect themselves with the congregations of Stirling and Buchlyvie.f
They must have been few in number, as in July 1780 a paper given in toj
the Presbytery from Thornhill bore that two elders and 5 male members]
to the east of the town were to place themselves under the inspection ofj
Stirling" session, and 6 male members to the west of the town were to be]
under that of Buchlyvie, while 3 were not in readiness to decide. These, 1
it is added, were all the heads of families they had within the bounds. The}
Antiburgher place of worship at Thornhill came to be occupied as a]
schoolroom.
Mr Russell's labours were afterwards confined to Greenloaning and]
Dunblane, but entire harmony between the two sections was never arrived!
at, and they only waited their opportunity to part asunder. Their ministerj
died on 3rd December 1803, in the eightieth year of his age and forty-fourth
of his ministry. A daughter of his was married in 181 2 to the Rev. Peter)
M 'Master, parish minister of Girvan, and died in 181 5. She has been often
identified with Tannahill's "Jessie, the Flower o' Dunblane," but in Chambers' ]
" Eminent Scotsmen " this is demonstrated to have been an entire mistake.
A few months after Mr Russell's death a Committee of Presbytery which
had met with the two divisions of the congregation reported that, owing to ,
differences about money matters, they were both fixedly resolved to be dis-
connected, and on 25th June 1804 the Presbytery, though fearing that
neither would be able to support a settled ministry, agreed to have them
disjoined. Greenloaning obtained a moderation soon after, promising a
stipend of ^65, with house, garden, and the driving of coals. The call,
signed by 33 (male) members and 16 adherents, was addressed to Mr Hugh
Heugh, but at the Synod the claims of Greenloaning were of little account
compared with those of his father's congregation in Stirling. A weary,
vacancy of twenty years succeeded, during which the lamp somehow held on
to burn. In 1814 the Presbytery found the membership to be rather dimin-
ishing, and, believing that the people were never likely to obtain a minister
for themselves, they recommended a reunion with Dunblane, but this sugges-
tion was not entertained. As it was, the usual supply of preachers was only
once a fortnight, but in June 1826 they went forward with a call, the stipend
to be ^60, a house, and sacramental expenses.
Second Minister. — Robert Meiklejohn, from Alloa (West). Ordained,
5th September 1826. This settlement did nothing to improve the situation,
and lasted little more than a year. In October 1827 the people represented
to the Presbytery that the state of their minister's health had on various
occasions unfitted him for public duty, and that visitation work had never
been engaged in. Mr Meiklejohn concurred, and wished the pastoral rela-
tion dissolved, which was agreed to on 25th December. He then removed
to Alloa, his native place, where he is lost sight of till 1839, when the Pres-
bytery, after previous dealings, suspended him from Church membership,
not deeming nervousness a satisfactory reason for neglecting gospel ordin-
ances. He died, 23rd May 185 1, in the fifty-ninth year of his age.
Third Minister. — Robert Paterson, from Dunbar (East). Ordained,
13th January 1829. Hopeless of progress, and finding the stipend inade-
quate, Mr Paterson, after a trial of nine years, resigned, and was loosed on
8th May 1838. He was admitted to Sunderland (Smyrna Chapel) on
27th June 1839. When about to leave Greenloaning Mr Paterson gave a
desponding account of the congregation's affairs. The stipend was only
;^67 in all, with a manse and a piece of land. The communicants numbered
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 687
80, and had decreased 20 within a year. In Sunderland he was still more
unfortunate, being constrained after two and a half years to resi<^n and the
congregation did not very long survive. He was next inducted to'lVIidmar
Greenloaning congregation in the latter part of this vacancy called Mr
Andrew Gardiner, who declined, and obtained Kincardine instead
Fourth Minister.— ]on^ M'Intyre, M.A., from Mauchline. Ordained,
25th May 1 841. The call was signed by 61 members and 12 adherents. In
1849 there was a communion roll of 88, and the stipend from the people was
^55) with a manse, there being a supplement of ^30. Mr M'Intyre during
his long ministry endeared himself to his people by his pastoral and pulpit
^u u ^^^ medical skill was utilised for the good of the wide locality, and
though the congregation could never be large the thinlv-peopled sphere was
hlled up to much advantage. A paper of Mr M'lntyre's, which appeared in
the Transactions of the Alloa Archaeological Society" for 1864, shows him
to have been a man of scholarly acquirements. It relates to the Roman
camp at Ardoch, in the neighbourhood of Greenloaning, and carries true
antiquarian value. On 12th January 1886 the worthy minister was relieved
of active service, and he removed some time after to Stirling, leaving the
manse, which needed large repairs, and the whole emoluments to his suc-
cessor. He died, 22nd January 1888, in the eighty-third year of his age and
forty-seventh of his ministry.
Fifth iMinister.~]onti ScOTT, from Cathedral Square, Glasgow Or-
dained nominally as colleague to Mr M'Intyre, 26th October 1886 The
membership at this time was about 90, and the stipend from the congre'^ation
£70, which was raised in all to ^180, including a temporaiy allowance for
house rent. At the close of 1899 the numbers had declined to 62 and the
stipend from their own funds to ^60, so that some ecclesiastical rearrange-
ment may be looked for in the near future. None the less, Greenloanine
church has done good work in its day.
BUCHLYVIE (Antiburgher) ,
This was originally a branch of Holm of Balfron congregation, and its own
records begin with 25th October 1750, at which date a meeting was held to
take steps for the purchase of ground on which to erect a place of worship
The distance between the village of Buchlyvie and the Holm Church is four
and a half miles, so that the wish to have ordinances for themselves was
perfectly iiatural. The work went on with spirit, the farmers in the several
quarters getting notice in rotation to turn out with their horses and
sleds to convey the materials. In this way the outlay in money amounted
to little more than ^150. In February 1752 the Presbyter>' of Glasgow met
in Mr Clelands manse in answer to a memorial from the people at Buch-
lyvie, and the result was the transference of the minister, no doubt with his
own approval, from the Holm of Balfron to Buchlyvie. The new church
was opened on the third Sabbath of March, and he removed to his new
sphere of labour on the first Sabbath of May. It is stated that the con-
gregation suffered somewhat about the year 1761 through Mr Moncrieff of
Abernethy urging the Antiburgher Synod to lay their claims for redress
of grievances before George III., whose reign had recently begun Mr
Cleland in common with almost the entire Synod, did not concur in this
proposal. Some of the elders and members of Buchlyvie congregation
however, took the other side, and are said to have joined the Reformed
Presbyterians, a step the very reverse of what was to have been expected.
Mr Cleland died, 14th January 1768, in the seventy-third year of his age and
688
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
twenty-sixth of his ministry. He has been described as a plain, practical,,;
and edifying preacher.
Second Minister. — JOHN France, from the parish of Blackford and the
congregation of Kinkell. Ordained, 28th March 1769. The call was
signed by 146 male members. In 1803 Mr France required a colleague, and
a call was issued to Mr John Moncrieff, whom the Synod appointed tal
Blackswell, Hamilton. i
Third Mi?tister.—X-iiT>'S.v.\\f M'Gregor, from Methven. Ordained as.]
colleague to Mr France, i6th August 1804. At the ordination the multitude^
in attendance was so great that the services had to be held out of doors ; ,
but, unfortunately, as sermon was beginning in the afternoon, a thunder-
storm compelled a great part of the hearers to seek shelter in the neighbour-
ing houses, and those who remained, repaired on a signal to the place of'
worship, where the work of the day was concluded. The manse, being
retained by the senior minister, Mr M'Gregor settled down in lodgings, and.
was deposed for immorality on 14th February 1809, four and a half years ^
after his ordination. It is said that he afterwards ministered to a Congrega-
tional church somewhere in England, but when or where he died has
not been ascertained. Mr France had died, 3rd August 1808, in the.
seventy-sixth year of his age and fortieth of his ministry, leaving one son,
James, minister of Moniaive, and a younger son, John, was ordained soonj
after in Kirriemuir.
Fourth Afinister.—WihhiAM Spiers, from Dennyloanhead. Called also
to Muckart, and the Presbytery found it very difficult to decide between the
two, they were in the most important respects so much alike. To secure
Mr Spiers Buchlyvie came up £30, and Muckart undertook to pay his taxes
in addition to the stipend promised. It was felt desirable to know the
mind of the candidate, who hesitated to express a preference, but at last
decided for Buchlyvie, to which he was unanimously appointed. Ordained,
27th April 1813, and died, 28th August 1825, in the thirty-fifth year of his
age and thirteenth of his ministry. During the whole progress of his last
illness he manifested a childlike submission to the will of God and a
calmness of mind, which never forsook him. He is described as having,
been universally acceptable as a preacher.
Fifth Minister.— ]OHS YoUNG, M.A., from Glasgow (Wellington Street).
Ordained, 13th March 1827, the service having been deferred for a week
owing to a snowstorm which prevented Mr Young from getting forward.
The people met, and after a sermon had been preached by the Rev. John
Smart of Leith, a corresponding member, the congregation was dismissed,-
Mr Young's connection with Buchlyvie closed in noteworthy circumstances.
The gift of romancing brought him to grief. On 2nd February 1836 some,
of his people complained to the Presbytery that their minister had given
forth certain baseless statements in the manse at Holm of Balfron as
reahties, one of them being that he had recently visited a person of dis-
tinction, who was ascertained to have been outside Scotland at the time.
He also related the outline of the conversation between them and the dress
the gentleman wore. Cornered in by his brethren Mr Young affirmed that,
though satisfied now that the stories he retailed were false, he believed
them at the time to be true, and that it was " physically and morally im-
possible "for him to have given them currency otherwise. More surprising
still, he knew himself to be under the guidance of an angel on Monday,
Tuesday, and Wednesday of every week, but when sharply questioned on,
this mystery he owned that, though the angel influenced him to make theJ
statements complained of, it did not vouch for their truth. None the
less, the things he told appeared to him to take place as certainly as any
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 689
event of his life. Had nothing more been known, we might have suspected
ourselves in contact with some psychological phenomenon. The committee,
however, took a more everyday view of the matter, and coolly told him not
to preach next Sabbath.
It now came out that Mr Young had been boasting about being em-
ployed to preach a public sermon in Stirling, a thing no one ever heard of
but himself. At next meeting of Presbytery, escape being impossible, a
written acknowledgment of wilful and deliberate falsehood was forthcoming,
followed by rebuke and the resignation of his charge on 15th March. The
elder from 13uchlyvie stated that the congregation would not interfere
either for or against, and Mr Young, after being loosed from his charge, was
suspended from office and Church membership sine die. He afterwards
left Scotland, had the charge of a high school in Ancaster, and died, 5th
January 1884, in his eighty-second year. The case altogether had features
scarcely paralleled in the annals of Presbyterial discipline. An Antiburgher
student two generations before had to be dealt with for a like infirmity, but
he redeemed his character, and obtained an honoured place in the Secession
ministry. Buchlyvie congregation, thus deprived of their pastor, now called
Mr Hamilton M. MacGill ; but the collegiate charge of Duke Street, Glasgow,
intervened, and secured his acceptance.
Sixth Minister. — JOHN RusSELL, from Glasgow (now St Vincent Street).
Called to Hexham, Rousay, and Freuchie in regular gradation, and then
ordained at Buchlyvie, i8th July 1837. In December 1846 the elders and
managers of Buchlyvie Church, stimulated by a Synodical recommendation,
met to plan for the extinction of their debt, amounting to ^190. Promissory
cards were issued simultaneously throughout the congregation ; and, when
they were gathered in, the encumbrance was found to have been got quit of
by a single stroke. Mr Russell laboured on among an attached people till
one Sabbath in February 1857, when he was seized in the pulpit with an
affection of the brain, confusing his command of words and names. After
this, though able to go about and converse, he only twice attempted to
preach, and he died, 5th September 1858, in the fifty-third year of his age
and twenty-second of his ministry. A brief but highly appreciative sketch
of his life appeared in the U.P. Magazine soon after, with internal evidence
of being from the pen of his friend, Dr Eadie. In 1853 Mr Russell published
a " Centenary Sketch of Buchlyvie Congregation," to which the writer has
been much indebted. He was the father of the Rev. Thomas Russell, first
of Allars, Hawick, and afterwards of London.
Seventh Minister. — James Berry, from Gillespie Church, Glasgow, but
brought up in the Free Church. Ordained, 2nd May i860. Under Mr
Berry earnest work was carried on for nearly forty years in the midst of a
slowly declining population. But by reason of some bodily ailment, which
impaired his efficiency, he tabled his resignation on 7th February 1899, in-
timating that he intended to remove from Buchlyvie, so that the manse, as
well as the money emoluments, would be surrendered. On 4th April his
name was placed on the emeritus list, and he was presented soon after with
a piece of silver plate and ^130. The membership of the congregation at
this time was only 125, and that of the Free church in the place was not
more than 80. In conjunction with the Free Presbytery of Dunblane and
the Advisory Committee of the two denominations a union was now arranged
for, the other minister, the Rev. George Ross, having expressed his willing-
ness to retire in order to facilitate the union negotiations. The movement
went on without let or hindrance, and the two congregations worshipped
together in the U.P. church on Sabbath, i8th June 1899, the services being
conducted by a Free Church minister from the neighbourhood. On the
II. 2X
690 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
following Sabbath the Lord's Supper was observed, when Mr Ross gave the
post-communion address, the only drawback being that Mr Berry, through-
illness, was unable to take part likewise. It was believed that none of the]
members on either side would fail to enter into the union. After the pulpit'l
had been supplied for some time by Free and U.P. probationers on alternatel
Sabbaths, a moderation was applied for, the stipend from the people to bei
;^i68, with a manse, the united membership being 197. Mr Berry died at]
Dunoon, 7th February 1900, in the seventy-sixth year of his age and fortieth^
of his ministry.
Eighth Minister. — George W. S. Cowie, Free Church probationer..!
Ordained, 8th March 1900. There was the fear that division might arise]
when a minister came to be chosen, but, though three candidates vv
nominated, the minority at once acquiesced, so that the danger was har-
moniously surmounted.
DUNBLANE (Burgher)
From its proximity to Stirling it was to be expected that the parish of
Dunblane would respond at an early date to the influence of the Secession.
This, indeed, was the case throughout the bounds of Dunblane Presbytery
generally, as is seen in connection with the origin of Bridge of Teith con-
gregation. But most of the acceders from the town and parish itself seem
to have been reckoned under the pastoral care of Ebenezer Erskine, and
hence in 1750 two elders for that district were ordained to office in Stirling
session. The Seceders in the western part of the parish would be much nearer
Bridge of Teith, and it may be assumed that it was there they went for the.
enjoyment of gospel oi'dinances. But on nth January 1757 a large ac-
cession from Dunblane was handed in to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow.
The paper, signed by 92 persons, gave as their grounds of secession the defec-
tions of the Established Church Judicatories from Reformation attainments,,
and wished a Fast appointed among them, " that they might humble them-
selves before the Lord for the sins of the land."' They were received under
the Presbytery's inspection, and the two nearest ministers, Mr David Telfar,
Bridge of Teith, and Mr James Erskine, Stirling, were to conduct week-day
services at Dunblane on Wednesday, the 26th of that month. Mr Telfar-
was also to preach there every second Sabbath till next meeting, an arrange-
ment which afterwards secured permanence for years. On 21st June there
was a second accession of 23 residenters, and as these included three elders.
a session was to be constituted. The families about the place, who had
hitherto been in the membership of Stirling Church, would now find them-
selves provided with the gospel in its purity at their own doors.
It was a special grievance that had opened a wide door for the entrance
of the Burgher Secession into Dunblane. The former parish minister had
been much respected, but after his death in October 1755 an unpopular'^
candidate got the presentation from the Crown to be his successor. Re-
monstrances urging the universal aversion of the people to Mr Robertson
were addressed to headquarters in vain, and, in compliance with orders from
the Commission of Assembly, the presentee was ordained, 12th May 1757J
An attempt was made in a few months by the minister and the Presbytery!
"to promote the peace of the parish, and prevent the people being seduced]
to a secession by the busy enemies of the Established Church." Mrj
Robertson applied for an assistant, who was ordained, ist February 1758 H
but this expedient, it would seem, did little to provide the parish with anf
evangelical ministry, and in a few years the assistant was transferred to aJ
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 691
parish of his own. In the year 1758 the first Burgher church was built in
Dunblane, as is shown by the deed of contract, and that same year eight
elders were ordained, making the entire number sixteen. But instead of
going in for a minister of their own, the acceders in Dunblane were now
bent on coalescence with their brethren at Bridge of Teith, four miles
distant. On 17th May 1758 union on this footing under a joint session was
unanimously approved of by the Presbytery. As a rule the minister was
to preach at the two places on alternate Sabbaths. After five years' experi-
ence of the conjunct arrangement that part of the congregation in and
about Dunblane petitioned the Presbytery to disjoin them from Bridge of
Teith and give them Mr Telfar's entire services. They felt the disadvan-
tage of not having a minister residing among them, and, besides, they were
quite able " to maintain the gospel in a respectable way." Those from the
Monteith side resisted, and after tantalising delays from one meeting to
another the Presbytery handed over the case to the Synod for decision.
There also the way was not clear at first ; but in the end the wishes of
the Dunblane section prevailed, and the Presbytery were appointed to
disjoin them, should they apply for a moderation, which was done on
2nd April 1765.
The contest between the two parties now changed its form. The call
from Dunblane came out unanimously for the Rev. David Telfar, Bridge
of Teith, and again the Presbytery resorted to the policy of delay, and
ended by again referring the case to the Synod. It was the sixth time that
unsuccessful attempts had been made to remove Mr Telfar to another
sphere of labour, and once more the motion. Not transport, carried. During
those months the congregation complained repeatedly to the Presbytery of
the great hurt the cause was receiving " by the many silent Sabbaths they
had been trysted with since the disjunction." Indeed, during eleven weeks
they had only had sermon two days, and this was the more to be regretted,
because the Antiburghers were sparing no pains to break and scatter them.
There was the promise that a better state of things was at hand, and in
February 1767 a call was brought up from Dunblane to Mr David Walker ;
but Pollokshaws was abreast of them, and the Presbytery gave the prefer-
ence to the latter place.
First Minister. — MiCHAEL GiLFlLLAN, from Stirling (now Erskine
Church). Ordained, 28th April 1768. The call, which is still extant, carries
the names of 400 members, of which number 218 were put down by the
presiding minister. . Mr GilfiUan's stipend at first was ^55, with no mention
of a house, and sixteen years after it was only ^60. Of three attempts
made in 1 780-1 781 to remove Dunblane minister to Edinburgh all that
requires to be recorded is given under Bristo. In 1788 the church had to
be renovated, and to a good extent rebuilt, the season being chosen when
the weather was likely to permit the congregation to worship in the open
air. The expense, deducting the sum received for old material, did not
amount to ^loo, and was all raised by private subscription. During the
controversy stirred by proposals to alter the Formula Mr GilfiUan came
to the front. It was he who proposed the motion which carried, that to
end the strife, instead of making alterations in the manner suggested, the
Synod should prefix a Preamble to the questions of the Formula, explaining
that candidates for licence or ordination were not required to approve of
anything in the standard books, which was interpreted as favouring com-
pulsory measures in religion ; and as for the obligation of our national
covenants on posterity, they left the nature and extent of that obligation
an open question. It was understood at first that this would satisfy the
party in the Synod who were opposed to all change, and under this impres-
UL
692 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
sion Mr Gilfillan wrote Mr Taylor of Levenside, the keenest at the head
of the minority, pleading with him to come forward, and, on the footing of
the victory he and his friends had gained, do his best to bring about a
reconciliation. The Preamble, however, came ere long to be the bone of
contention and the ground of severance.
The part which Mr Gilfillan acted at this time occasioned an inbreak
on the integrity of his own congregation. A body of malcontents, 73 in
number, obtained supply of sermon from the Old Light Presbytery on the
third Sabbath of August 1800, and in 1808 five of their number were
ordained to the eldership. In 1812 they were united with the dissentients
in Doune, who had left Bridge of Teith Church, and the united congregation
had a minister, Mr Samuel Armour, ordained over them on 25th August
181 5. Five years after this Dunblane again got sermon for itself; but the
cause never prospered, and in 1822 the name disappeared from the list
of Original Burgher congregations. Whether they ever possessed a place
of worship of their own we have not ascertained, but their existence is
certain to have intensified sectarian feeling in the place, and done the
general cause no good. After the break up some of the Original Burgher
families would be sure to attach themselves to Doune congregation, four
miles off. Mr Gilfillan died, i6th December 18 16, in the sixty-ninth year
ofhisageand forty-ninth of his ministry. In Dr Belfrage's "Sketches of
Life and Character" it is stated that he was seized with apoplexy in Stirling,
while attending a meeting of the British and Foreign Bible Society in the
end of August. There was partial recovery, but as he was stepping into
bed on the evening of the above date a blood-vessel burst in his head.
His niece, who resided with him, was speedily in attendance, but he only
gave her a farewell look, and immediately expired. His death was a serious
loss not only to his own congregation and to the Secession Church, but
to the town of Dunblane, in which Mr Gilfillan had long taken a leading
part in every good work. He was never married, but he drew much of the
family element from Bridge of Teith manse, his sister being the wife of the
Rev. William Fletcher.
The congregation after a vacancy of some months called Mr Archibald
Baird, Mr William Pringle (afterwards Dr Pringle of Auchterarder) being
the other candidate proposed. The call was signed by 435 members, reveal-
ing strength of membership ; but Auchtermuchty (East), though much
inferior in numbers, got the preference from the Synod.
Second Mitiister. — James Anderson, from Leslie (now Trinity). Or-
dained, 15th April 181 8. The services were conducted in the open air,
on the spot where his predecessor had been ordained fifty years before.
A competing call from Girvan to Mr Anderson had been withdrawn in
deference to his own avowed preference. In 18 19 the Relief attempted
to get footing in Dunblane, but after a twelvemonth or thereby sermon was
withdrawn. In 1835 the present church, seated for 600, was built at a cost
of over ^1500. Mr Anderson has been described by his successor as a
man of classic taste, with an attractive delivery, and beautifully composed
discourses. However, as years passed the fine gold lost something of its
lustre, and on 12th September 1854 his resignation was accepted. He then
removed to Leslie, his native place, where he died, 19th March 1858, in the
sixty-eighth year of his age and fortieth of his ministry.
Third Minister. — William Blair, M.A., from Lochgelly. Called
previously to Whitby, Yorkshire, and ordained at Dunblane, i6th April 1856.
The call was signed by 255 members and 92 adherents. The property was
now free of debt, and the stipend was to be ^150, including house rent, and
^6 was allowed for communions, with travelling expenses besides. In 1858
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 693
the congregation built their present large and handsome manse. In 1874
Mr Blair was invited to remove to Glasgow, to build up what is now White-
vale Church, and in the following year a more attractive offer came from
Blantyre, but he preferred on both occasions to remain at Dunblane. In
1879 he received the degree of D.D. from St Andrews University, and five
years afterwards he was chosen one of the Clerks of Synod, carrying the
appointment over several strong competitors. Dr Blair's pen, besides being
largely engaged in periodical literature, has done important service to the
denomination, as was fitly acknowledged in i8g8, when he was raised to the
Moderator's Chair. It was under his editorial care that Dr M'Kelvie's
Annals and Statistics were published in 1873. To him also was entrusted
the preparing of the " Outline of the History and Doctrine of the U.P.
Church." He was also convener of the committee which drew up the " Me-
morial of the Jubilee Synod " of 1897, and on him most of the work devolved.
In another field honourable mention must be made of Bishop Leighton's
Life, but specially it behoves the writer to express his obligations to Dr
Blair for his compact and carefully drawn-up " Centenary of Dunblane
Congregation," a Memorial to which he has been largely indebted in making
up the present sketch. In the year of the Union the membership of Dunblane
congregation came very near 300, and the stipend, with some extras, was
^208, along with the manse.
DUNBLANE (Antiburgher)
This congregation, as we have seen, was one with Greenloaning till 1804,
and at that date its separate history begins. The union had never wrought
well, and so early as 1773 Greenloaning people complained that the sick
among them were not visited owing to the minister, whose residence was at
Dunblane, having no horse, though they allowed him ^5 a year for this
purpose. They also brought up that the place of worship was built at
Greenloaning, when few about Dunblane were owning the Antiburgher
cause. After Mr Russell, their minister, was in among age's infirmities
Dunblane people pressed the Presbytery to give them the whole of his
labours, pleading his inability to go to Greenloaning on alternate Sabbaths.
At his death on 3rd December 1803 matters were ripe for a severance, and
on 25th June 1804 this was sanctioned amidst misgivings. Within two
months a moderation was granted to Dunblane congregation, the Presbytery
believing that, though the stipend of ^60, with the driving of coals, was
inadequate, it was as much as the people were able to give, but it was to be
left in the preacher's option to accept or decline the call.
First Minister.— ]o\m Wallace, from Glasgow (now Cathedral Square).
Ordained, 30th May 1805. Another call from Birsay, Orkney, had inter-
vened, but the Synod preferred Dunblane. Within four years money
difficulties became serious. The membership was not over 100, and after
deducting those who could do nothing or almost nothing the managers had
scarcely more than half that number to draw from. No idea, they said, was
more painful to them than that their pastor, whom they esteemed and
loved, should be uncomfortable in his worldly estate or that they should be
deprived of his labours, but it was beyond their power to do more for him.
Their case was represented to the Synod, and a grant of ^15, which was
renewed year by year, was obtained. Three years after this the stipend was
^69, and the Presbytery testified that their pecuniary exertions, in proportion
to their numbers, far exceeded those of any other congregation in the bounds.
Thus, even with aid from the Synod, there was the constant strain to meet
694 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ordinary demands and the interest on a considerable amount of debt. The
Union of 1820 also told on their resources, involving the loss of some mem-
bers who, for convenience, joined Bridge of Teith. In the beginning of 1828
Mr Wallace's health was such that he required regular sick-supply from the
Presbytery, and on 19th August he died, in the fifty-first year of his age and
twenty-fourth of his ministry. His name receives honourable mention in
connection with Dr Young of Perth and the help he afforded him amidst his
early struggles.
Second Minister. — Alexander Henderson, from Alloa (Townhead).
Ordained, 23rd July 1829. The call, though unanimous, was signed by only
66 members and 14 adherents, and the stipend promised was ^60, with
house rent and sacramental expenses. Mr Henderson's professional income,
which he put in 1848 at ^40, he had to supplement by conducting an Educa-
tional Institution. His health having given way under this double burden
he petitioned the Synod at that time to grant him supplement, and measures
were adopted by the Presbytery and the Mission Board to have the affairs
of the congregation placed on a better footing. The Sabbath collections
were found to average not more than a halfpenny for each person present,
and the accounts were carelessly kept besides. A stipend of ^50 was now
engaged for, which was to be augmented by ^35 from the central fund.
But before the new lines were entered on, Mr Henderson resigned his charge,
informing the Presbytery that he had received an invitation from Canada
West to proceed thither as a missionary, and wished to leave forthwith.
The congregation acquiescing, the demission was accepted on nth May
1849, and the East Church, Dunblane, declared vacant. Towards the end
of that year Mr Henderson was settled at St Catherine's, Canada West, and
after a brief stay there he removed to Fitzroy. He subsequently had the
charge of stations or congregations at Packenham^ Tarbolton, and Fitzroy
Harbour, not all in succession. He also supplied Arnprior, besides founding
a Classical and Theological Seminary which it was proposed to establish in
that place. He died, 23rd October 1858, in the fifty-ninth year of his age
and thirtieth of his ministry. In 1839 Mr Henderson appeared as the
author of a poem, entitled "The Pilgrim," suggested by the earlier sections
of Bunyan's immortal work. It is in Spenserian measure, but, though
manifesting skill in versification, and adorned here and there with brilliant
conceptions, the encouragement it received did not tempt the author to bring
out a second volume.
Dunblane congregation, deprived of its minister, and amidst reduced
fortunes, resolved to let go its former connection. The membership was
now returned at 71, and some change of front was desirable with a view to
prolonged existence. Besides this, attachment to the denomination had
been reduced towards zero by friction with the Mission Board and the
impression that their minister had got unkindly treatment at headquarters.
His own feelings on this matter even found expression in a pamphlet, which
very nearly came under the Synod's censure. It happened, besides, that the
way was prepared for going over to the Evangelical Union by some irregu-
larity which was gone into about a year before. The Rev. John Kirk of
Edinburgh, who had a close marriage connection with Dunblane, agreed, at
the request of some outsiders, to preach a Temperance sermon in the East
Church on a particular Sabbath evening. Mr Henderson, who was to be
from home that day, left his pulpit vacant, and Mr Kirk conducted the
ordinary services. The Presbytery took up the case, and expressed censure
with a sharpness which went beyond the requirements. Now was the time
to make amends by acceding to Mr Kirk and his party altogether. This
was done ; but the change brought no new lease of life, and after appearing on
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 695
the list of E.U. cliurches till 1853, the name of Dunblane was dropped. The
old building gradually crumbled into ruin, all that remained forming part
of a garden wall. Many years afterwards an aged elder in Dr Blair's session
was one who belonged originally to the membership of the East Church.
I3LAIRLOGIE (Relief)
Intere.st attaches to this congregation from the fact that it was the first
which acceded to the recently-formed Presbytery of Relief. From its
proximity to Stirling the parish of Logie, to which the village belongs, had
come early under the sway of Secession principles, though there were many
adversaries, as the following extract from the Caledonian Mercury of 30th
April 1740 makes manifest : — " Last Tuesday there was a numerous meeting
of followers of the Seceding Presbytery upon the hills near Logie ; but the
people from the neighbourhood went up against them in battle array and,
breaking their tents to pieces, dismissed them. They then repaired to
Kippenross Muir, near Dunblane, where they erected a tent with plaids.
Messrs Ebenezer and Ralph Erskine, Moncrieff, and Nairn, with another
gentleman, were present." But dissent of a milder type was to find a local
habitation within the bounds of the parish twenty-two years later, and, as
usual, this arose from the enforcement of Patronage. The people had set
their minds on the Rev. William Cruden of Logie-Pert, and, as the six
months allowed the patron to exercise his rights had expired, they expected
the Presbytery to give efifect to their wishes. However, the Earl of Dun-
more came forward after his titne with a presentation in favour of Mr James
Wright, who was ordained by order of the General Assembly on 12th May
1 76 1. But instead of resisting, the bulk of the people quietly withdrew
from the Estabhshment, arranging to secure freedom of election in
another way.
First Minister. — John Warden, of whom little is known except that he
came from Cuderston, in England, where he had presided over a Presbyterian
congregation. On i6th June 1762 Messrs Gillespie, Boston, and Colier met
at Blairlogie, perhaps for the first time since 22nd October 1761, when they
had constituted themselves into a Presbytery at Colinsburgh. Mr Gillespie
preached, and after the sermon solemnly admitted Mr Warden to his new
charge. It was another unit added to their number and another congrega-
tion placed under their inspection. The session consisted at first of eight
elders, but two others, probably from beyond Logie parish, were entered
soon after. The place of worship, which dated from 1762, we may assume
to have been ready for the induction. Mr Warden died, 2gth December
1768, in the seventh year of his ministry at Blairlogie. His widow, we find,
was married in April 1770 to another Relief minister, the Rev. Thomas
Scott of Auchtermuchty.
In looking out for a successor to Mr Warden, Blairlogie congregation
had their attention drawn to the Rev. Alexander Pirie of Abernethy by his
neighbour, the Rev. Thomas Scott above mentioned, and on three occasions
elders and others of their number went through to hear him. The reports
they brought back being favourable, the Relief Presbytery at a meeting held
at Dunfermline in June 1769 were petitioned for a moderation with a view
to having him for their minister. But Pirie was a marked man, his trial for
heresy before the Burgher Presbytery of the bounds, which ended in de-
position, having caused great commotion in the kingdom of P'ife. Members
of Presbytery were now at sixes and sevens about what was to be done.
Cruden of Glasgow was determined that Alexander Pirie should never be in
696 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
fellowship with them, and Gillespie threatened to leave the Presbytery if a1
moderation with any such design were granted. Bell of Jedburgh and]
Mr Scott, strange to say, took that same side. Hence it carried to refuse the]
moderation, a decision against which Messrs Baine, Monteith, and Simpson]
protested and dissented. The eighth clerical member at that time, the Rev J
James Pinkerton of Campbeltown, we may presume, was absent owing'
to distance. Blairlogie people waited four months, and then petitioned ,
again. Bell was now prepared to give way, and had even written Gillespie^
Cruden, and Scott that they ought to let the congregation go on with their
call, and had he been present at the meeting this would have carried. But
there was the elder from Edinburgh on the other side, and the motion
which carried was : " Grant the moderation of a call, exclusive of Mr Alex-
ander Pirie, minister of the gospel at Abernethy." Mr Simpson of Bellshill ■
gives these particulars in a pamphlet, in which he denounced the attempt to
limit Blairlogie in the choice of a minister as destructive of the foundation
principle on which the Presbytery of Relief stood. The moderation was
fixed for 25th January 1770, Mr Gillespie to preside ; but the people and the
Moderator were at cross-purposes, and there could be nothing done. Only
Mr Gillespie's brother Robert, who was through from Edinburgh, harangued
the people in the porch, telling them : " If you knew Mr Pirie as well as I do,,
you would thank the Presbytery for what they have done."
The current of events now dips out of sight, but on two points we get
hold of certainty : — (i) The Presbytery of Relief broke into two, divided
counsels as to the filling up of the vacancy at Colinsburgh coming in to
intensify the alienation ; and (2) Blairlogie congregation and the Rev.
Alexander Pirie entered into marriage bonds with no ceremony beyond
mutual consent. From a particular pamphlet we learn that he preached to
them on Sabbath, 19th August 1770, and on the following Sabbath he
closed his ministry at Abernethy. Then he returned to Logie and, says the
writer, " he and his family are now settled there." The relation, however,
was not to be permanent. In the course of a few years the congregation
wished back into their old connection, and at the Synod in 1776 a petition
to that effect from Blairlogie was laid on the table. In May 1777 it was
agreed without a vote not to receive this paper, as it was not from the
minister and people, but they were left to take what other steps they might
think proper against next meeting. But Mr Pirie made no application to be
admitted to the ministry of the Relief Church, and from what followed we
may surmise that his mind was running in the direction of Independency.
On Sabbath, 14th June 1778, he preached his farewell sermon from the
text : " Grace be with you all. Amen," and next day a petition from the
congregation was presented to the Relief Presbytery of Glasgow. The
records of the congregation give the winding-up with Mr Pirie in a few
words: "On Thursday, the 1 8th, he and his family left this place, and is
gone to Newburgh." What followed is given under Abernethy (Burgher).
When the Presbytery met again, a fortnight after, the commissioners were
able to answer, Yes, to the two questions : Did Mr Pirie officiate for some
time as their minister? and. Had he now left them? Blairlogie congregation
was then recognised as under the inspection of the Relief Synod once more.
In July 1779 heritors, elders, managers, and heads of families met toj
consider what steps should be taken to obtain a settlement. Without much :
delay they called Mr Thomas Monteith, formerly of Duns, but then in
Alnwick, one of three members of Presbytery whom they spoke of as having]
encouraged them much ten-years before, when they were contending for ani
unlimited choice of a minister. But Mr Monteith wrote declining to accept,]
and the call was allowed to drop.
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 697
Second Minister. — William Billerwell, from Jedburgh (High Street).
Ordained, 27th December 1780, and loosed, 14th January 1794, on accepting
a call to Dysart. The population of the village at this time was about 100,
and of families in the parish 163 attended the Relief, and a nearly equal
number were connected with other dissenting churches, most of them, we
may believe, with what is now Erskine Church, Stirling.
Third Minister. — JOHN Watt, from St Ninians. Ordained, 25th
December 1794, little more than three months after receiving licence. The
stipend was to be ;^7o, with office-houses and garden. Mr Watt was called
in 1797 to Campsie, and in 1798 to Dovehill, Glasgow ; but the latter call
was much divided, and he declined to accept. His supporters then built
a church for themselves in Hutchesontown, to which he was called in 1800,
but he still decided to remain in Blairlogie. However, on 7th March 1809
he accepted a call to Old Kilpatrick.
Fourth Minister. — William Anderson, from Dovehill, Glasgow (now
Kelvingrove). Ordained, 24th April 18 10. In November 1845 the church,
owing to the overheating of the stove, was virtually burned to the ground.
In this emergency Mr Anderson preached for collections in the wealthier
churches of the denomination, taking for his text the words : " Our holy and
our beautiful house, where our fathers praised Thee, is burned up with fire."
Blairlogie congregation was at the same time recommended by the Presby-
tery to friendly assistance, and in this way nearly ^600 came in to meet
the ^630 which the rebuilding cost. In the latter years of Mr Anderson's
ministry there appears to have been a toning down, and his hold of several
families was lost. In the end of 1849 a.faina arose against the minister, which
became public property at once through the newspaper press, and on 8th
January 1850 the Presbytery suspended him sine die., hut. on 3rd December
he was restored to Church fellowship. He afterwards removed to Auchter-
arder, where he died, 8th May 1855, in the seventy-eighth year of his age,
leaving a son-in-law in the ministry, the Rev. William Burnet of Cupar.
Fifth Minister. — William M'Laren, from Dennyloanhead, an elder
brother of the Rev. John M'Laren, afterwards of Cowcaddens Church,
Glasgow. Ordained, 12th August 1851, there being then a membership
of 80. Without the abounding energy of his brother, or his high-strung
ardour for aggressive work, Mr M'Laren found in Blairlogie a sphere
befitting his thoughtful, scholarly ways, and under his ministry there was
the quiet restoring and compacting. In 1866 the present manse was built at
a cost of ^560, for which a grant of ^200 came from the Board, and the
people raised ^360, the minister himself being a large contributor. In 1884
Mr M'Laren, whose vitality had been declining, retired under medical advice
from stated labour, and his resignation was accepted on 4th November, the
status of senior minister being reserved. He then removed to Glasgow,
bearing with him the respect of his people and the good wishes of his co-
presbyters. He died there on 15th October 1893, in the sixty-sixth year
of his age. In July 1885 the congregation called Mr James Milroy ; but
Freuchie came in forthwith, and obtained the preference.
Sixth Minister.— RohERT F. ANDERSON, M.A., son of the Rev. David
Anderson, East Church, Ceres. Ordained, i6th March 1886. In 1892 the
congregation lengthened its cords by the erection of a hall at Menstrie, a
manufacturing village of 900 inhabitants fully a mile to the east. It cost
^1000, and was entered free of debt, the people having subscribed ^156,
and friends outside ^360, while two sales of work realised ^350, and ^150
was received from the Extension Fund. It may be a question whether the
seat of the congregation might not have been fitly transferred to this place
at the time the old church was burnt. But in 1880 Menstrie was provided
698 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
with a Chapel of Ease, and has since been formed into a quoad sacra parish.
There is room, however, for regular Sabbath evening services and other
Christian agencies being maintained in this United Presbyterian hall, and
the congregation is now designated Blairlogie and Menstrie. At the close of
1899 it had a membership of 105, and the stipend from the people was ^^90,
with the manse.
ST NINIANS (Relief)
The intrusion in which this congregation originated has had its general
features set forth again and again, but in the present outline there will be
some corrections made. The parish of St Ninians fell vacant on 9th
October 1765, and the Rev. David Thomson of Gargunnock got the
presentation to the benefice in April 1 766. For some reason procedure was
arrested till May 1767, when the General Assembly instructed the Presbytery
" to proceed in the affair with all convenient speed.' On 5th August the
Presbytery met at St Ninians to moderate in a call to Mr Thomson, but
when the opportunity was given, no elder or head of a family came forward
to subscribe, and of the heritors who appeared in person or by proxy the
Presbytery held that not one had a right to vote. The conclusion was
now reached that they could not proceed towards a settlement on a bare
presentation without a call or even a shadow of concurrence. The Synod
found, however, that eleven of the rejected heritors were entitled to vote,
and they instructed the Presbytery to hold another meeting, and give them
the opportunity. This was done, but the Presbytery still refused to sustain,
the number of heritors who signed being so few, and all of them non-
resident except three. This decision both Synod and Assembly confirmed,
and It seemed as if the case were ended. But in November 1768 the patron
petitioned the Presbytery to proceed anew, alleging that five additional
heritors were now prepared to sign. The reply was that the deliverance of
last Assembly was final, a decision which next Assembly by 105 to 78
reversed, and again the claims of patron and presentee were in the
ascendant.
The Presbytery, in submission to the dictum of the Supreme Court, now
arranged for a second moderation, and on 28th August 1770 a paper in the
presentee's favour was signed by 7 additional heritors and 40 heads of families.
Again the Presbytery decided that there was no call, and the Synod that it
was not a sufficient call, and again the Assembly reversed their finding,
and ordered the settlement to take place. It is mentioned in Struthers'
History of Scotland that the presentee was aged and very infirm, but this
strong statement is scarcely borne out by the fact that Mr Thomson when
he received the presentation was only in his fifty-sixth year, and had only been
twenty-four years a minister. We find besides that the objections urged
against him at the bar of the Assembly were " a weak voice and delicacy of
constitution," allegations which the other side denied. The Presbytery were
now ordered, though only by 106 to 104, to carry through the induction by
20th September 1 771 at latest ; but they fell back instead on an old Act of
Assembly, which enjoined them in the case of a transporting call to compare
the state of the two parishes, and decide as the greater good of the Church
might require. This was a right which they alleged the Assembly could not
^ke from them, and, thus supported, they declared unanimously that Mr
Thomson must remain in Gargunnock, a judgment which the Synod unani-
mously confirrned. But the Assembly were not thus to be thwarted, and at
their meeting in 1772 they renewed their orders to go on with the induction
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 699
forthwith. There was now the hope of an accommodation being arrived
at through the appointment of an ordained assistant, a measure which a
Committee of Assembly were of opinion would be satisfactory to all parties.
This brought another year of temporising policy on the part of Stirling
Presbytery. As a reason for not proceeding with the induction they pleaded
that the patron had not fulfilled his promise to provide for an ordained
helper, and till this was done they were not bound to induct Mr Thomson
into St Ninians. The Assembly of 1773 took them close, and by 138 votes
to 69 fixed the admission for the last Tuesday of June— all the members to
be present, or answer for their absence at the bar of next Assembly.
The turn which the proceedings took on that eventful day became matter
of notoriety. The Rev. Robert Finlay of Dollar had volunteered to preside
out of his turn at the induction ceremony, and at the appointed hour he
mounted the pulpit, and after praise and prayer which had no special bearing
on the work of the day, he called on Mr Thomson, who stood up. Then, m
an address of considerable length, he conjured him to renounce his claims
to the charge of St Ninians ; reminded him that he was opposed by 60
heritors, 600 heads of families, and all the elders, he believed, except one ;
that he had been always esteemed an orthodox and evangelical preacher,
but if he persisted in pressing himself into this new charge he could never
have more relation to the parish than that of stipend-lifter. These con-
siderations he finally enforced— by the mercies of God, by the wish for peace
of mind in a dying hour, and by thoughts of appearing at the great tribunal.
The response made to this appeal was : " Proceed to obey the order of your
superiors." Nothing remained now for the presiding minister but to declare
Mr David Thomson admitted to be minister of the parish of St Ninians "in
the true sense and spirit of the late sentence of the General Assembly."
The above must have been the purport of Mr Finlay's address, but
nothing more. When brought to book for what he said, he alleged that the
words he spoke were different in every sentence from the charge as laid
against him, so that there is no reason to believe they were taken down from
his lips. But the impression they left behind them was such that certain
heritors and parishioners complained to the Commission in November about
Mr Finlay's behaviour that day, and a committee was appointed to elicit in-
formation, and report at next Assembly. The accused made certain acknow-
ledgments in the end, confessing that he spoke with " too much edge," but
pleaded that he expected the address to be given at the Presbytery's table,
with few looking on. It was not till he came to St Ninians, and found a
throng assembled, that he woke up to the fact that the induction would be in
a crowded church. In the pulpit he had no sermon in readiness, and was
obliged to keep by what he had prepared. In the Assembly of 1775 it
carried by 100 to 94 that he should be sharply rebuked, the other motion
being to suspend him from his "judicative" functions for life, and thus the
famous St Ninians Case took end, so far as the Courts of the Established
Church were concerned, after the windings and doublings of nine years.
The date of Mr Thomson's induction was 29th June i773, and the Relief
Church at St Ninians was opened on 14th July. This shows that the people
must have acceded to the Relief a considerable time before the intrusion
was consummated. Dr Struthers gave the origin of the congregation as
1772, and the eariiest set of tokens bore the same date, implying that not
only was sermon obtained but the communion observed thus eariy— a rare
occurrence until a fixed ministry was obtained. The place of worship had
sittings for 1340, and cost about ^iioo, and of twenty-one elders only one
remained in the Establishment.
First Mtm's/er.— Patrick Hutchlson, M.A., from Dunblane, where
I
yoo
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
his father is understood to have been an Antiburgher elder. In his earlyj
years he himself was strongly attached to what he calls the Secession!
scheme, but, as he relates in one of his pamphlets, he was led to test the!
foundation principles by the word of God, " and by some other performances!
that fell in his way," and at last he was satisfied that they had no Scriptural!
basis to rest on. '"The consequence was," he said, "that I immediately!
disconnected myself with the Seceders, as my convictions of truth and duty
required." Dr Struthers was of opinion that prior to this he had passec
through his theological course at the Antiburgher Hall, and that "he was-!
just about applying for licence when his views underwent a change." But
in the foresaid pamphlet on " Messiah's Kingdom " he complained that
young men in that connection were obliged to swear the Bond before being
admitted to the study of divinity, or before getting licence to preach the
gospel, and he added : " This information I have received from some wha
were once connected with them." This surely implies that it was a subject
on which he could only speak from hearsay. Having obtained licence from
the Relief Presbytery Mr Hutchison was assistant for some time to Mr
Baine of Edinburgh, and his name appears in the list of elders at the Relief
Synod in May 1773. He was ordained at St Ninians, 19th November 1774,
and, according to the Old Statistical History, his stipend was fixed at ^50,
In 1779 Mr Hutchison came forward as the advocate of ReHef principles in
three puWications. The first is entitled "A Compendious View of the
Religious System maintained by the Synod of Relief" ; the second, " A Few
Animadversions on the Re-exhibition of the Burgher Testimony" ; and the
third, "A Dissertation on the Nature and Genius of the Kingdom of Christ."
The first of these was assailed with characteristic edge by the Rev. James
Ramsay, Antiburgher minister in Glasgow, and likewise a year later, with
sarcastic vigour, by the Rev. David Walker, Burgher minister of PoUok—
shaws. These two pamphlets brought Mr Hutchison into conflict with both
divisions of the Secession, and entitled him to be regarded as the champion
of the Relief cause, in opposition to strait-laced terms of communion and the
binding obligation of the Covenants.
On 26th March 1783 Mr Hutchison accepted a call to the forming con-
gregation of Paisley, and his work at St Ninians was brought to an end. In
his new and weighty sphere of labour he ceased to figure as a contro-
versialist, reckoning, perhaps, that the battle was fought out. He had done
his part amidst much provocation, and had reasoned out principles of per-
manent value in the ecclesiastical world. In a very interesting history of St
Ninians Relief Church, which appeared in the Christian Journal for 1844,.
Dr Frew has recorded, no doubt on what appeared ample authority, an
incident to illustrate Mr Hutchison's tenderness towards opponents. A
few days after writing a sharp letter to Mr Walker of PoUokshaws he noticed
in the newspapers an announcement of his former antagonist's death. The
remembrance filled him with self-accusings and bitter regrets till he found,
much to his relief, that his wife had held back "the warlike missive." It
turns out, however, that, while Mr Hutchison died in 1802, Mr Walker sur-
vived till 1 8 10. Our sole design in not passing over this glaring inaccuracy
is to evince how unreliable oral testimony is, if it ventures outside mere
generalities or goes back beyond a single remove.
Second Afinis/'er.—ARCHlBAhD CROSS, translated to St Ninians after aj
ministry of less than three years in Biggar. Inducted, 22nd April 178^1
The Established Church was now about to regain something of its lost
ground. Mr Thomson died in March 1787, and during the vacancy the
right of Patronage was purchased for the people at a cost of ^600 or ^701
and the choice of a minister was to lie henceforth with the heads of familit
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 701
■who were in full communion with the parish church. The new arrangement
would be regarded by many as equivalent to cancelling the need for a Relief
congregation in the place, and it brought in a succession of popular ministers
to fill the parish pulpit. Mr Cross, who had more to contend with now,
died, I ith March 1803, in the forty-fourth year of his age and twenty-second
of his ministry.
Third Minister. — James Logan, M.A., who had been five and a half
years in Balfron. Inducted, 29th November 1803, the stipend being ^125,
with manse, garden, and other grounds. St Ninians parish had all along
been largely drawn from by the two Secession churches in Stirling ; but the
Relief kept a powerful hold, and in 1838 the communicants numbered 1250.
Of the congregation nearly 50 families were from Stirling, a few from Kin-
cardine, and the merest sprinkling from Dunipace, Logie, and Denny.
There was a debt on the property at this time of ^400. Mr Logan's
stipend had been ^180, with manse, garden, and an acre of land, but in
1835, when a colleague was appointed, it was reduced to ^105, the junior
minister to have ^120 in all.
Fourth Minister. — Robert Frew, son of the Rev. Forrest Frew, Perth
(East). Ordained as colleague and successor to Mr Logan, 25th November
1835, having declined a call to Auchtergaven (Relief). St Ninians had
previously called Mr Neil M'Michael, but he preferred Dunfermline. Mr
Logan seems to have been able to take partial work for some time after
he became senior pastor, but, becoming entirely incapacitated, he removed
to Leith, where he had a daughter married to the Rev. Francis Muir. He
died there, 4th October 1841, in the seventy-fifth year of his age and forty-
fourth of his ministry. Another of his family requires passing mention —
Sheriff Logan, a name well known both in the legal and literary world. A
few years after their aged minister's death the congregation set about liquid-
ating their debt of ^400, and upwards of half the sum required was sub-
scribed in the course of a week or two. In 1856 Mr Frew received the
degree of D.D. from the University of St Andrews, and in 1868 he was
promoted to the Moderator's Chair of the U.P. Synod. On Sabbath, 28th
December 1884, his jubilee was celebrated in St Ninians church, the ser-
vices being conducted by Drs Robertson of Irvine, Black of Wellington
Church, Glasgow, and Aikman of Anderston, and at the soiree next evening,
amidst congratulatory addresses, he was presented with a cheque for ^1200.
The fiftieth year of his ministry being now entered on, it was a fit time
to arrange for having partial relief from the burden of heavy ministerial
work, and in this opinion pastor and people were agreed.
Fifth Minister. — David Smith, M.A., from St Andrew's Place, Leith.
Ordained, 3rd December 1885, having previously declined to settle down
at Slateford. For several years Dr Frew took his full share of the work,
but gradually he retired into the background, as was befitting under the
pressure of advancing age. On Monday, 26th November 1895, ^ largely
attended soiree was held in the church, the junior minister in the chair.
The day was opportunely chosen, as that day Dr Frew entered on the sixty-
first year of his ministry. He took part in the Union of 1847, and he has been
spared to enter into the larger Union of 1900, retaining much of his old
mental vigour, and having survived the changes and the exactions of eighty-
seven years. Even yet his voice is occasionally heard taking part in
the services of the sanctuary, though now the entire work of the congrega-
tion devolves of necessity upon the junior pastor. St Ninians at the Union
had a membership of over 460, and Mr Smith's stipend was .^355, Dr Frew
having relinquished everything except the manse.
\
702
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
CLACKMANNAN (Relief)
The Rev. Thomas Oswald was minister of this parish from 1778 to 1787,
and there was irritation among the people both when his ministry began
and when it closed. He had been ordained over Crown Court Church,
London, in 1752, and the simple fact that he filled that difficult position
twenty-one years leads us to infer that he was a man of more than average
ability, but, being possessed of a considerable fortune through his marriage,
he retired in 1773, and obtained the presentation to Clackmannan four years
afterwards. His settlement was resisted in Presbytery and Synod by a
large body of the people ; but in May 1778 the General Assembly ordered
the proceedings to go on, and he was inducted on ist September of that
year. No traceable disruption took place at the time, but materials may
have been preparing for such an event at a future day. Nine years later Mr
Oswald was desirous to have an assistant, but inclined to consult the wishes
of the people in the selection. At this juncture he died, and the popular
candidate was passed by in favour of the nominee of the heritors and the
patron. The consequence was that Mr Robert Moodie was ordained, 2nd
September 1788, much to the chagrin of the baffled parishioners. But
instead of contesting the matter in the Courts of the Church the dissentients
on 19th February'1788 applied to the Relief Presbytery of St Ninians for
sermon, which was granted at once. A church was built before the end of
the year, as is attested by an old stone with the inscription : " This Relief
House was built at the expense of this congregation Anno Dom. 1788."
The sittings at first were 450. This stage reached, the congregation began
by giving an unsuccessful call in February 1789 to the Rev. William
Thomson of Beith, but better known from his subsequent connection with
Hutchesontown, Glasgow.
First Minister. — David Lindsay, from the Established Church, Dum-
barton, but acceded to the Relief at the close of his theological course.
Ordained, 3rd September 1789. Some years after this the parishioners
were apportioned among the different Presbyterian churches as follows : —
Established, 391; Relief, 180; Burgher, 59; and Antiburgher, 51. Most
of the two latter parties would travel to Alloa, two miles off, the Relief
being the only dissenting church within the bounds. From a brief Memoir
of Mr Lindsay, which appeared in the Christian Journal., it is manifest that,
though not popular as a preacher, he was a man of scholarly attainments,,
several students, whose names came to be widely known, having removed
to Old Kilpatrick, where he taught a public school in his youth, that he
might aid them in their classical studies, and, though his sphere of labour
was limited, he gave standing to the Relief cause in Clackmannan. He
died, 2 1st October 1834, after a protracted illness, in the seventy-eighth
year of his age and forty-sixth of his ministry. He left two sons in the
ministry — the Rev. William Lindsay, Relief Church, Perth, and the Rev.
John Lindsay, who joined the Established Church when a student, and
became minister of the quoad sacra church, Helensburgh. The Rev. W. S.
Thomson, Relief minister, Dumbarton, was Mr Lindsay's son-in-law.
Second Minister. — James A. Miller, from Duns (South). Ordained,
25th December 1834. Three years after this Mr Miller put the number of
communicants at 260, and stated that they had increased about one-third
since his ordination. The stipend, however, was only ^75, with sacramental
expenses, though he had often received more. There was a slight debt of
^70 on the property, and he had no manse. In November 1840 the con-
gregation applied to the Presbytery for aid, and were told that the Court
would cheerfully render them all the assistance in their power if they
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 703
showed a disposition to help themselves. In the following May there was
evidence of friction- between minister and people, and both parties were
exhorted to study forbearance and kindness. Mr Miller had already
announced from the pulpit his intention to resign, and on ist June the
connection was dissolved. For some years Mr Miller remained on the
preachers' list, but at the General Assembly in May 1845 he was received into
the Established Church. Before the close of that year he became minister
of the High Meeting-House, Berwick-on-Tweed. He died there, 8th August
1874, in the seventy-second year of his age and fortieth of his ministry.
Third Minister. — William Brown, previously of Leitholm, which he
had resigned nearly two years before. Inducted, 25th January 1842. This
position was not reached without difficulties of several kinds. On applying
for a moderation the commissioners stated that Mr Brown was the candidate
the people had in view ; but at the congregational meeting only 30 had
voted, and 12 of these were for delay. Their late minister had also a
letter forward pressing certain money claims against them, and Kelso
Presbytery had up a charge against Mr Brown for defaming his former
congregation. However, these hindrances were got over, and Mr
Brown entered on his second charge with a stipend of ^65. In 1845 the
small burden of debt mentioned above seems to have been removed with
the aid of £2^ under the Liquidation Scheme of the Relief Synod. Still,
prosperity was not arrived at, and in the beginning of 1849 the Presbytery
found that the number of members able to contribute was only 80, and all
of the working-classes, and though they were doing their utmost they could
not provide a stipend of more than .1^50, which was raised to ^80 by
supplement. In February 1865 Mr Brown required sick-supply from the
Presbytery, and after resuming partial work for a time he found himself
unable to go on with comfort, and wished the way cleared for his demission
by being received as an annuitant on the Aged and Infirm Ministers' Fund.
The attendance was now placed as low as 60, and the membership at 65.
The demission was accepted on 2nd April 1867, and Mr Brown died, 4th
May 1868, in the sixty-third year of his age and thirty-third of his ministry.
Fourth Minister. — Andrew Whyte, M.A., who had been fourteen years
in South Ronaldshay, and was prepared to welcome removal nearer the
centre. The stipend was to be ^70, with ^50 of supplement, and the
induction took place, 17th December 1867. The membership two years after
this was returned at 200, a great improvement within a brief period, and the
funds afforded ^100 of the stipend. A manse had also been recently built
at a cost of ^810, of which ^510 was raised by the people, and ^^300 came
from the Manse Board. Mr Whyte died, 19th November 1895, in the
seventieth year of his age and forty-second of his ministry.
Fifth Minister. — Thom.\S Bigg.\RT Hogarth, son of the Rev. Robert
Hogarth, Ivy Place, Stranraer. Ordained, 25th June 1896. The member-
ship at this time was put at fully 200, and the stipend from the people ^90,
with the manse, the figure at which it has since continued. Mr Hogarth
accepted a call to Milngavie on 26th February 1900. The commissioners
from Clackmannan deplored the prospect of losing his services, and stated
that Clackmannan congregation had resolved to increase his stipend should
he remain, but he adhered to his purpose. Before next meeting, the Free
Presbytery of Stirling raised the question of Union with the Free Church
congregation in Clackmannan, which had never been strong, and had a
membership at this time of under 140 ; but, after a joint committee of the
two Presbyteries and the Advisory Committee of the two denominations had
travelled some way in the matter, a union was pronounced impracticable,
and the attempt had to be abandoned.
704 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Sixth Minister. — HUGH Carmichael, M.A., from Milngavie. Ordained,
24th October 1900, the last ordination in the U.P. Church. At the close of
the preceding year there were 160 names on the communion roll.
TILLICOULTRY (Antiburgher)
This parish, like others at the foot of the Ochils, came under the influence
of Stirling and Ebenezer Erskine in the early years of the Secession. In
1 745 they found their centre at Alloa, where an Associate congregation was
formed, the distance being only four miles. In this connection they remained
till nth April 1797, when, along with their brethren in Alva and Coals-
naughton, they were formed into a distinct congregation, and that year their
church was built. The petition for sermon was signed by 30 members of
Alloa congregation, by 7 Burghers, and by 22 from the Established Church
owing to an unpopular settlement in 1795. While the proposal was
under consideration Mr Muckersie of Alloa wrote the Presbytery that "they
were very agreeable members, and he would be sorry to part with them, but
if it turned out well it would give him great satisfaction." A dreary period
had to be passed through before the movement could be said to have " turned
out well."
First Minister. — WiLLIAM Breingan, a native of Dollar, who had been
loosed from Peebles by the Synod in. April 1800. His name was then placed
on the probationer list, and while acting in that capacity he had to be dealt
with by Stirling Presbytery for not fulfilling his appointments. Inducted to
Tillicoultry, ist October 1801, and though the day was extremely cold the
services were conducted in the open air. Under Mr Breingan's ministry the
elements of real success were wanting, as the close makes manifest. In
July 1806 he was censured by the Presbytery for an act of intemperance,
admitted by himself, and weightier work followed. In the beginning of 1807
the congregation complained about some parts of their minister's conduct.
It gives a humiliating view of ministerial character to read that one Saturday
night he was in a public-house in Tillicoultry, where he remained till eight
or nine on Sabbath morning, and that he owned the season to have been
unseemly, the time ill-spent, and the company improper. He pleaded,
indeed, that he had no fixed place of residence, but it comes out that the
house in which he lodged was close at hand. No wonder though the people
felt much discouraged, and alleged that several had left the church, and
others who had been favourably inclined towards Secession principles were
prevented acceding. The case ought to have been pressed to a severance
at once, but, though Mr Breingan was never allowed to enter the pulpit
again, months passed before attempts at reconciliation were ended. Finding
at last that the congregation was utterly averse to a continuance of the
pastoral relation, the Presbytery on 20th October 1807 dissolved the connec-
tion, and referred the case in its essential merits to the Synod. There had
been previous improprieties, but of a less flagrant kind, established against
Mr Breingan, and on 29th April 1808 the Synod deposed him from the office
of the ministry and the fellowship of the Church. In January 1827 the
following notice appeared in an Edinburgh newspaper : — " Died at Lyn Mill,
near Alloa, on 15th curt., Mr William Breingan, late minister of the gospel
at Tillicoultry." It was a time of keen frost, and he perished from exposure.
A vacancy of ten years followed, during which the congregation came to
the verge of extinction. In 1815 the question was put to the Presbytery
whether they should continue to receive sermon. This led to a meeting at
Tillicoultry, when it was found that the number of families connected with
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 705
the church was 32, and that 12 or 14 other families usually attended at
Alloa or Muckart. In 18 17 two members of Presbytery did not fulfil their
appointments to preach at Tillicoultry, as notice was sent them that the con-
gregation did not think it advisable to accept even the gratuitous supply
provided them, having no prospect of maintaining the dispensation of ordin-
ances. A second meeting with the people was now arranged for, at which
the Presbytery suggested that, if all the members of the Secession within the
bounds would connect themselves with the congregation, as they ought to
do, it might yet prosper. A regular eldership was at the same time arranged
for, with the promise of sermon from members of Presbytery and aid from
the funds. Thus inspirited they applied for a moderation in April, when Mr
John Craig was unanimously called, but the Synod appointed him to Kinkell.
Second Minister. — Archibald Browning, from Strathaven (First).
Ordained, 22nd January 1818, at Alloa, "as their own place of worship was
too small for the probable audience on such an occasion." The call was
subscribed by only 25 male members, and, as the stipend was meagre, Mr
Browning took in boarders, along with some day scholars, almost from the
beginning. His aptitude for educational work having developed, there was
a widening out in this capacity, until on 29th March 1825 he retired from
ministerial work, and was loosed from his charge. In 1830 the congregation
of Queen Anne Street, Dunfermline, knowing his pulpit gifts and his demo-
cratic sympathies, invited him to become their minister, but, fearing that the
strain would be too much for him, he declined the call. Meanwhile the
academy flourished, the number of boarders frequently being close on forty.
In 1 84 1 Mr Browning sent intimation to Stirhng Presbytery that he had
withdrawn from the Secession Church, and about this time he began to
preach regularly without seeking ecclesiastical connection. He died sud-
denly, 6th February 1858, aged seventy-two. In his doctrinal views Mr
Browning must have approximated latterly to Unitarianism if the writer may
judge from having heard him preach one Sabbath in the Unitarian Chapel,
Edinburgh, his text being : " This is life eternal, that they might know Thee,
the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent." Two of his
sons-in-law, who, like Dr Eadie, had been tutors in his household, were the
Rev. David Connel, Bo'ness, and the Rev. William Smith, Bannockburn.
Third Minister.— Robkkt Allan, from Linlithgow (East). The call
was signed by 120 members, and was preferred by the Synod to another
from Kilwinning, a third from Stronsay having previously lapsed. Ordained,
15th .August 1826, and deposed for immorality, 25th March 1829. Became
a teacher in Edinburgh, where he died, 26th August 1855, in the sixty-first
year of his age. The congregation next called Mr Sutherland Sinclair,
whom the Synod appointed to Greenock (now Greenbank).
Fourth Minister. — James Young, from Kinross (East). Ordained, i8th
August 1 83 1. On Sabbath, 4th October 1840, the present church was
opened, with sittings for over 600, the old building being soon after taken
possession of by Mr Browning. On 25th July 1843 Mr Young's resignation
was accepted, and he removed to Edinburgh, where he joined the Original
Secession congregation under Dr M'Crie, and passed into the Free Church
at the Union of 1852 as a minister without a charge. In his Memoir of the
Rev. Robert Buchanan of Dalkeith, Mr Young has indirectly given his
reasons for leaving the United Secession. He died, 20th March 1865, in
the sixty-fifth year of his age. His wife, who predeceased him, was a
daughter of John Cunningham, Esq. of Balgonie, and a granddaughter of
the Rev. Robert Cunningham of Eastbarns. In 1866 Mr Young's " Life of
John Welsh," John Knox's son-in-law, was published, a book carefully pre-
pared, and of lasting value.
n. 2Y
7o6 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Fifth Minister.— G'EOKG^ Hunter, from Dundee (Tay Square). With
Tillicoultry in prospect Mr Hunter declined Girvan and Tarbolton, and was
ordained, 20th August 1844. The call was signed by 118 members and 36
adherents, and the stipend promised was ^100, with a manse. During Mr
Hunter's ministry the congregation enjoyed a track of prosperity, owing
much to the zeal and liberality of Mr James Paton, woollen manufacturer,,
and other members of that well-known family. Mr Hunter died, 2nd March
1871 in the sixty -third year of his age and twenty - seventh of his
ministry. A daughter of his is married to the Rev. Dr Aitken, Ryehill^
Dundee.
Sixth Minister. — William Galletly, who had resigned Peterhead in
1869, and since then had been Superintendent of the Edinburgh City
Mission. The congregation had previously called Mr George L. Carstairs,
but, unfortunately for the permanence of harmony, he declined, preferring
Berkeley Street, Glasgow. When the next moderation was applied for, it
was stated that 78 had voted, Proceed, and 71 had voted. Delay, and with
parties so equally balanced the Presbytery might very well have dictated a
pause. Instead of that proceedings were allowed free course, and the Rev.
William Galletly was carried over Mr James Fraser, now of Dalkeith, the
result being a divided call, signed by 161 members and opposed by 146. A
Committee of Presbytery now recommended the names of both candidates
to be laid aside, and the work of selection to be begun anew, a recommenda-
tion which the successful party refused to entertain. The case went to the
Synod, by whom the call was sustained, and Mr Galletly was inducted, 9th
July 1872. The membership a little before was 341, and the stipend was to
be ^210, and the manse. The minority now got sermon from the Congrega-
tional Union, and, after worshipping three years in the Popular Institute
Hall, they built a church of their own at a cost of ^3000, and thus another
congregation was formed in Tillicoultry. The United Presbyterian member-
ship at the close of 1899 was 203, and the stipend £177, with the manse, but
the diminution in numbers is largely accounted for by the erection at Coals-
naughton.
BANNOCKBURN (Burgher)
This was an offshoot from Stirling (now Erskine Church). On 12th May
1795 the session of that congregation brought before the Presbytery a
petition from 69 of their members residing in and about Bannockburn for
a disjunction. However, the commissioners now limited themselves to a
request for occasional supply "till they saw how matters turned out," and
accordingly one of their own ministers, Mr Campbell or Mr Smart, was
to preach to them on the fifth Sabbath of that month. In September a
protest against a decision of Stirling session refusing a disjunction to 98
members who had applied for the same, brought the matter anew before the
Presbytery. The case was now submitted to the judgment of the Synod,
and in compHance with their instructions the representatives of the session
were asked by the Presbytery to what extent their funds might suffer if the
families about Bannockburn were disjoined. The answer was that it might
be some ^^20 annually ; but the commissioners from Bannockburn answered
that their constituents held only 100 sittings in the Back Row Church,
which yielded ^15 or thereby. They also were able to tell that the attend-
ance at Bannockburn, when they had sermon, was between 300 and 400.
The result was that the Synod in April 1796 granted the petitioners the
disjunction craved, and the wonder is that, considering the overgrown bulk
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 707
of Stirling congregation and the intervening distance of two and a half
miles, the application was ever opposed.
Next year the new congregation built a church, and in July 1798 they
called Mr Thomas Brown, not only harmoniously but unanimously. The
call was signed by 169 members, which may be looked on as gauging the
strength of the new formation, and the people undertook ^90 of stipend,
with a free house, and the driving of the minister's coals. But Mr Brown
was in demand for more important places, and the Synod appointed him
to Dalkeith (now Buccleuch Street). Meantime the mother congregation
in Stirling was in convulsions over the Old Light Controversy, and the
sympathies of Bannockburn people, fretted, perhaps, by their recent dis-
appointment, went with the minority. The consequence was that on 12th
January 1800 they handed in to Stirling Presbytery a paper of declinature,
renouncing connection with the Burgher Synod. Being invited to confer in
a friendly way with them on the grounds of offence, they replied in bitter
and disrespectful language, and on nth March they were declared out of
connection with the Secession body. Any of their number who took the
other side had only to place themselves anew under the ministry of Messrs
Campbell and Smart.
Having already acceded to the Original Burgher Presbytery the con-
gregation, after a delay of nearly five years, had a minister, Mr William
Raeburn, ordained over them, the stipend to be ^90 in all, and the call was
signed by 153 members. During the time of the Voluntary Controversy the
congregation was in a state of deep decHne, and at their own Synod of 1836
it was intimated that Mr Raeburn had been loosed from his charge. Over
against this development a petition for sermon had been presented to the
United Associate Presbytery of Stirling from a large body of people, who
were assembling for public worship in Bannockburn, requesting to be erected
into a congregation. In the Voluntary Magazine the applicants were said
to represent 160 families, and they numbered among them three or four of
Mr Raebum's elders. At a public meeting of the inhabitants it had been
decidedly resolved to have sermon from the Secession rather than the
Establishment, with which the Original Burgher Synod was beginning to
negotiate for union. On 27th September of that year the petitioners were
congregated, and next year they purchased the Original Burgher meeting-
house, the congregation having passed out of existence. Worship had been
kept up in a hall hitherto, but after renovating the church at a cost of ^^468
they took possession, the sittings being now 450. Mr Raeburn died at
Glasgow, 7th May 1853, in the seventy-fourth year of his age.
First Minister— 'WiLhWM Smith, from Kirkwall. Ordained, i6th April
1839. Under their young minister, and in their new connection, the con-
gregation enjoyed a smooth flow of prosperity. But Mr Smith's life course
came suddenly to an end. On Saturday, 14th August 1858, he was in
Aberdeen assisting at the communion, and walking along by the bay in the
sultry warmth he was tempted to venture on a bathe. Caught in a cross-
current, of which he had been warned, the swimmer showed signs of distress,
and as the boat which put out to his aid was nearing him he sank. He
was in the forty-sixth year of his age and twentieth of his ministry. Mj-
Smith's widow was a daughter of the Rev. Archibald Browning, Tillicoultry,
and one of their sons, of the same name with his father, after a trial of pro-
bationer life turned to literary work, and had a place on the staff of the
Encyclopcedia Britannica. He died, nth January 1878, in his thirty-
fourth year.
Secojid Minister.— ]\uvs M'OwAN, M.A., from Balbeggie. Called first
to Forfar, and then to Duntocher, but declined both. He then carried
7o8 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Bannockburn over Mr James Brown, afterwards Dr Brown of Paisley, by a
single vote. Ordained, i6th August 1859. Instead of ^100 a year the con-
gregation were now able to give their minister ;^I26, with a manse. In
February next they sustained a heavy loss every way by the sudden death of
their foremost man, Mr Andrew Robertson of Auchenbowie. " He has been
carried off by heart spasms," wrote his brother in Irvine, " that have been
assailing him periodically for some time, and that have struck the heart at
last." He was the eldest of Greenhill family. On 2nd April 1861 Mr
M'Owan accepted a call to the North Church, Perth.
Third Minister. — Andrew L. Dick, from Paisley (Oakshaw Street).
Ordained, 25th February 1862, and loosed from Bannockburn, 5th October
1875, on accepting a call to Both well. During this vacancy the congregation
called Mr A. F. Forrest, who was ordained soon after as colleague to the
Rev. John Steedman, Erskine Church, Stirling.
Fourth Minister. — Andrew Morrison, from London Road, Glasgow.
Ordained, 31st October 1876. The membership has risen since then to 289,
and the stipend has kept at ^200, with a manse.
ALVA (United Secession)
On 25th September 1838 a petition from Alva for sermon was presented to
Stirling Presbytery from 25 members of the Secession and 34 adherents,
partly persons from other denominations. There being no opposition from
neighbouring sessions, the station was opened by Mr Fraser of Alloa on the
third Sabbath of November. In April following it was intimated to the
Presbytery that a congregation had been formed with a membership of 55,
of whom 16 were from Mr M'Dowall's church, Alloa, most of the others
being from Tillicoultry. The church, with 600 sittings, was built in 1842,
and the population being rapidly on the increase, there was the promise of a
vigorous Secession congregation in Alva. There was material already at
hand, as the parish minister reported two years before that the dissenting
families in the parish numbered 60. The first call was addressed to Mr
John Edmond ; but another from Berwick (Church Street) caused suspense,
and a third, from Dennyloanhead, led to a declinature.
First Minister. — James Duncan, son of Professor Duncan, Mid-Calder.
The call was signed by 94 members and 39 adherents, and the stipend
promised was ^100, with sacramental expenses. Mr Duncan declined at
first, but at next meeting commissioners intimated that, as the congregation
had agreed to proceed at once with the building of a place of worship, he
was willing to accept. The ordination took place, 15th February 1843,
having been delayed through illness. Mr Edmond, the earlier choice of the
congregation, preached, and Mr Duncan had three brothers taking part in
the act of consecration. A manse was built alongside of the church soon
after. In negotiating for the ground they occupy the congregation was
generously dealt with by the proprietor, James Johnstone, Esq. of Alva.
The congregation had a good beginning, but the circumstances in which Mr
Duncan's ministry closed must have tended to discourage them. In July
1846 Mr M'Dowall of Alloa brought up in the Presbytery that reports as to
Mr Duncan's deportment had been in circulation for some time, and three
of his brethren were commissioned to make inquiries, as they might see
fit. At an early meeting they reported that after examining witnesses for
eleven hours they came to the conclusion that the fama was groundless,
though on some occasions Mr Duncan had not been sufficiently careful to
keep up the dignity of his office.
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 709
The Presbytery did not meet again till September, and then Mr
M'Dowall, who had been absent when the above report was given in,
expressed his readiness to produce evidence which would substantiate what
had been alleged. A libel followed, with its troublesome windings, and an
examination of witnesses extending over five days. The verdict on each of
the six counts in succession was Not Guilty, and in each case it was unani-
mous, except in one instance, where a solitary vote was given for Not
Proven. At the meeting in December Mr M'Dowall intimated that he
would not appeal the case to the Synod ; that he had no unfriendly feeling
towards Mr Duncan ; and that he would cordially rejoice in the success of
his future labours. The Presbytery, however, were not prepared to let the
matter rest there. They held that he ought to have been satisfied with the
result of the former investigation, and they thought, perhaps, that his zeal in
the Abstinence cause had carried him beyond the limits of discretion. They
decided, therefore, to admonish him to be more charitable and cautious for
the future, and Mr Duncan was also to be exhorted to walk with special
circumspection. Mr M'Dowall protested against being censured, however
mildly, and in the end a sheaf of protests and appeals were brought before
the Synod, when it met in May 1847 to have the Union consummated with
the Relief Church. Time being limited the whole case was handed over to
a large committee, and by their advice the several appeals were withdrawn
one by one. The admonition objected to was never tendered, but under the
new arrangement of Presbyteries Mr M'Dowall and his congregation were
at their own request transferred to the Presbytery of Dunfermline.
In the beginning of November 1856 Mr Duncan informed his session of
the step he was about to take, and on the 27th of that month he wrote the
Presbytery from his brother's manse at Howgate tendering the demission of
his charge, on the ground of ill-health and mental depression. His minis-
terial course now terminated abruptly, and the pastoral tie was dissolved on
6th January 1857. He afterwards settled down as a chemist at Penicuik,
and when advanced in years he appeared sometimes at Edinburgh Presbytery
as the representative elder for Howgate, with ministerial status. He died,
9th June 1900, in the eighty-eighth year of his age, the last of the six
brothers.
Alva congregation during this vacancy experienced three disappointments.
The first they called was Mr Matthew Crawford, who accepted Sanquhar
(South) ; the second, and not till a year had intervened, Mr William Salmond,
who preferred North Shields * ; and the third, Mr Peter C. Duncanson, now of
Hamilton, who preferred West Calder.
* William Salmond, B.A., was from College Street, Edinburgh. After completing
his theological course in 1857, and delivering part of his trial discourses, he intimated
to Edinburgh Presbytery that he did not intend to take licence in connection with
our Church, and a committee was appointed to converse with him. Difficulties were
soon got over, and he was ordained at North Shields, loth November 1858, having
declined calls to Alva and Sunderland (now Trinity Church). When minister there
Mr Salmond published a pamphlet on "The Christian Theory of Morals versus
Utilitarianism," and on 5th October 1875 he was loosed from North Shields, having
accepted an appointment to a Chair of Theology in Otago College, New Zealand. In
1885 he received the degree of D.D. from Edinburgh University, and on 29th January
1886 the Synod of Otago transferred him to the Chair of Mental and Moral Philosophy,
with a salary of ;^6oo, besides class fees, and ^^50 for house rent. In 1888 Professor
Salmond published a pamphlet of sixty-one pages, entitled "The Reign of Grace,"
a contribution in favour of "The Larger Hope," or salvation hereafter. At next
meeting of the Synod of Otago and Southland a motion to declare him no longer a
minister of the Church was rejected, and he continues to hold the same important
situation.
II
7IO HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Second Minister. — ANDREW G. Fleming, from Strathaven (West),
Ordained, 2ist February i860, having previously declined a call to Muirton.
The membership was about 140, and the stipend ^125, with the manse. On
8th February 1870 Mr Fleming was loosed from Alva on accepting a call to
Paisley (Thread Street).
Third Minister. — William D. Moffat, from Glasgow (Claremont),
Ordained, 4th October 1870. Three years after this a new manse was built
at a cost of ^686, in addition to the sum realised for the old manse, the
people raising ^520, and the Board allowing ^166. In April 1875 Mr
Moffat declined a call to Leicester, but accepted Rose Street, Edinburgh,
jn 5th October thereafter. The congregation next year called Mr John
Black, who was ordained two years later at Lochwinnoch.
Fourth Minister. — Matthew Dickie, eldest son of the Rev. Andrew
Dickie, St Paul's, Aberdeen. Ordained, 6th March 1877. The membership
three years after this was 312, and the stipend from the people ^230. In
the year 1888 the church was renovated and enlarged at a cost of ^800. It
has accommodation for 500. On 20th August 1890 Mr Dickie died at
Christiansand, in Norway, whither he had gone in quest of restoring. He
was in the forty-third year of his age and fourteenth of his ministry.
Fifth Minister. — John King, M.A., from Stuartfield. Ordained over
the English Presbyterian Church, Seaham Harbour, County Durham, on
28th February 1882, and translated to Alva, where he was inducted, i6th
April 1 89 1. At the jubilee celebration in January 1893 it was stated that
during the preceding five years ^1000 had been spent in enlarging and
beautifying the church, and, without either bazaar or canvassing for sub-
scriptions, the congregation was now free of debt. The membership at the
close of 1899 was 295, and the stipend ^210, with the manse.
BRIDGE OF ALLAN (United Presbyterian)
On i8th January 1848 a petition for supply of sermon from members and
adherents of the U.P. Church residing in Bridge of Allan was presented to
the Presbytery of Stirling. Their wish was to have a place of worship built
in the place, the nearest churches of the denomination being in Stirling,
three miles to the south, and Dunblane, three miles to the north-west, while
Blairlogie, to the south-east, was somewhat farther away. There was a
population at that time of about 1000 within a radius of a mile, and there
was the prospect of rapid increase. Neighbouring sessions making no
opposition, Mr Steedman of Stirling was appointed to open the station on
the fourth Sabbath of February. On 14th November a congregation was
formed with a membership of 67, of whom about one-half were from Erskine
Church, Stirling, and the others from Viewfield Church and Dunblane.
Next year a church, with 350 sittings, was built, and on the second Sabbath
of April five elders were inducted and one ordained. In June 1850 a call
was addressed to the Rev. Robert Mitchell of Craigs signed by 49 members
and opposed by 35, which the Presbytery, after hearing parties, sustained.
A letter was then read from Mr Mitchell intimating that, owing to the state
of feeling in the congregation, it was vain to think of prosecuting the call, as
he would not accept. This might have ended the matter, but it was thought
needful to consult the people, the result being that 23 voted to proceed no
further and 4 to go on. Here Mr Mitchell had to interpose a second time,
urging the Presbytery to set the call aside, but it was not till other two
months had passed that this simple expedient was adopted, and the matter
took end.
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 711
First Minister. — James Muir, from Glasgow (now Sydney Place).
Recent proceedings had not conduced to harmony, which may account for
the call being signed by only 55 members and 16 adherents, and Mr Muir
wrote declining it. However, when the Presbytery met he requested to be
heard, and having stated that some of his difficulties were removed, and
acting on the strong advice of the Presbytery, he ended by intimating his
cordial acceptance. The ordination followed on ist July 1851. Mr Muir had
previously declined Kirriemuir (West). The stipend at Bridge of Allan
began at ^125, including house rent and sacramental expenses. In 1868
galleries were required, which with other improvements cost ^450, and
raised the sittings to 450. Since the congregation began, the population of
Logie parish had risen from 2500 to nearly double that number, and the
increase had been chiefly at Bridge of Allan. Eleven years later this con-
gregation had a membership of 224, and gave a stipend of ^250, besides the
manse, and raised for missionary and benevolent purposes close on ;^200.
In the early part of 1890 Mr Muir arranged to be relieved from active service,
and his circumstances enabled him to dispense with the emoluments of
office, only he was to retain the occupancy of the manse.
Second Minister. — GEORGE A. Johnston Ross, M.A., son of the Rev.
Donald Ross, Queen Street, Inverness. Ordained, 26th August 1890. The
stipend was to be ^300 in all. In 1893 Mr Ross was called to Wellington
Church, Glasgow, but he remained in Bridge of Allan, where a new church,
with 650 sittings, was built on the old site, and opened on Wednesday, 25th
September 1895, when the collection amounted to ^1050. The entire cost
was .1^8350, of which fully ^5000 was already provided. On 2nd February
1897 Mr Ross agreed to remove to Westbourne Grove, London, to take the
place of Dr Walter Morison. In 1900 Wellington Church came back on
him again, to be colleague to Dr Black, but he very unexpectedly declined.
Bridge of Allan after a brief vacancy of eight weeks invited the Rev. James
G. Goold, from Dumbarton (Bridgend), to become Mr Ross' successor, but
without effect.
Third Minister — ROBERT Law, B.D., translated from Kilmarnock
(Princes Street), and inducted to Bridge of Allan, his third charge, on 8th
July 1897. Mr Muir died, 25th February 1900, in the seventy-fourth year of
his age and forty-ninth of his ministry. The membership at that time was
about 340, and the stipend ;^400, to which the manse now fell to be added.
DOLLAR (United Presbyterian)
On 28th July 1868 a petition was presented to Stirling Presbytery by some
member^ of the U.P. Church residing in Dollar to have a mission hall in
that place taken under their inspection. In this application the Rev. John
Paterson, formerly of Rattray, who had a boarding-school in Dollar, took
the lead. It was stated that Sabbath evening services and other forms of
Christian work had been kept up in the hall with more or less regularity
for at least ten years. The building belonged to John Millar, Esq. of
Sheardale, and he was willing to grant the use of it for the purposes of the
mission free of charge. The Presbytery having agreed to avail themselves
of this opportunity for Church Extension, and the Mission Board having
allowed ^50 to meet necessary expenses, a senior student was engaged to
conduct evangelistic operations there for the next twelvemonth. On 7th
June 1870 a congregation was formed with a membership of 51, of whom
43 were received by certificate. Next December a session was constituted
by the ordination or induction of five elders, one of them being the Rev.
712
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
John Paterson. In their first attempt to obtain a minister Dollar was
unsuccessful. The preacher fixed on was Mr John Boyd, but from among"
a multiplicity of calls he selected that of Wemyss Bay or Skelmorlie.
First Minister. — William B. Robertson Wilson, from Irvine (now
Trinity Church), and the first child baptised by the well-known minister
whose name he bears. Ordained, 23rd January 1872. The stipend was to
begin at ^107 from the people and £foo from the Board, and the call was
signed by 71 members and 39 adherents. The hall in which the congrega-
tion worshipped had been previously made over to the congregation as a
free gift by Mr Millar, and along with it the surrounding property, which
yielded ^25 a year. In 1876 a new church, with 360 sittings, was built
at a cost of ^4500, and the last ^100 of debt was paid off in 1882, the
Board allowing ^25. In 1887 there was a communion roll of over 100
and a total income of ^228. The population of the town being little more
than stationary, the church was not to be expected to make rapid increase,
but at the close of 1899 it had a membership of 134, and the stipend from
the people was ^122, ids.
It is seen from the above sketch that the U.P. Church was long in
obtaining a foothold in the town of Dollar. Families adhering to the
denomination walked to Tillicoultry, two and a half miles distant, or to
Muckart, which was farther off still. Until the Disruption, there was only
one dissenting congregation in the parish, which dated back to 1827. It
belonged to the Original Secession, but though it obtained the Rev. James
A. Wylie, M.A., for its minister on 20th April 1831, it made but slow
progress and took little hold of the community. On 21st August 1846
Mr Wylie was loosed from his charge, the congregation regretting that,
from the smallness of their number, they had been unable to give him a
competent stipend. But there was now a Free church in Dollar, and
with it the members of the Original Secession united about the year
1852.
COALSNAUGHTON (United Presbyterian)
Coalsnaughton is a mining village a mile south-east of Tillicoultry. A
mission station had been kept up there for about forty years, and sealing
ordinances had been dispensed for half that time, those enjoying them being
recognised as in the membership of Tillicoultry Church. But on 3rd March
1888 a step was taken in the direction of independent existence. Those
connected with the station were to be placed under the charge of the
Presbytery, with power to elect elders for themselves. Accordingly, it was
announced on 2nd June that five of their own number had been ordained
to office, but they ranked as a branch of Tillicoultry session. At the end
of 1890 there was a membership of fully 200, and on 6th December 1892
they were congregated. During these two years the number had increased
to 257, and there was a Sabbath school with 280 names on the roll. In
view of the meeting of Synod in May 1893 a petition came up to Stirling
Presbytery from Coalsnaughton signed by 213 members. They had en-
joyed for five years the preaching and oversight of Mr James Smith, elder
and catechist, and their unanimous wish expressed at a congregational
meeting was to know whether there was any way by which he might be
ordained as their minister without passing through the usual curriculum of
study. The question being referred to the Synod it was decided that,
" taking into account the successful gathering of the people and their for-
mation into a congregation through the devoted labours of Mr Smith, and
the gifts for the ministry over this people which he has been proved to
PRESBYTERY OF STIRLING 713
possess, (the Synod) resolves to grant the prayer of the petition, and
authorises the Presbytery of Stirling to regard Mr Smith as eligible for a
call by Coalsnaughton."
The way being now cleared Mr Smith was ordained, 17th October 1893.
He was from Dairy congregation, Ayrshire ; was accepted as one of the
Synod's evangelists in 1882 ; had Fishcross and Sauchie under his care
for five years ; and was then transferred to Coalsnaughton, with the above
result. The mission station there had been long fostered by Messrs. James
and David Paton, and when the former of the two brothers died in 1882
the survivor took the work upon himself, till he too passed away, on
Sabbath, 13th July 1890. One of his last acts of Christian liberality was
the enlargement of Coalsnaughton Chapel, which was reopened for public
worship by Dr William Boyd, formerly of Forest Hill, London, on the very
day of the donor's death. Mr Smith's stipend at first was ^70 from the
people, ^50 from Mr David Paton's trustees, and ^40 of supplement.
In December 1899 Mr Smith tendered his resignation, explaining that he
felt called to give himself more entirely to the work of helping Christians
to a fuller development of the spiritual life and into more active service for
Christ, but after a time he consented to continue in Coalsnaughton. There
was a membership at this time of 240, and the people had raised their pro-
portion of the stipend to ^80, while their total income was almost exactly
double that sum. Mr Smith, besides exercising the regular functions of the
ministry, has published three volumes of sermonettes for Christian workers
and Bible students, entitled " Handfuls on Purpose." He is also the author
of a volume on " Spiritual Patterns," being lessons drawn from the Taber-
nacle, its vessels, priesthood, and sacrifices. The church property, which
belonged absolutely to Mr James Paton, was made over to the congregation
by his son, Mr John Paton, in October 1892.
CALLANDER (United Presbyterian)
Bridge of Teith congregation drew a few members from this parish in the
latter part of the eighteenth century, and in the year 1806 the Burgher
Presbytery of Glasgow agreed to grant occasional sermon to the families
resident there. But this was merely matter of convenience owing to the
distance of eight miles from their own place of worship, and the setting
up of a congregation was never thought of. It was not till May 1884 that
the U.P. Presbytery of Stirling attempted to form a preaching station at
Callander. Taking advantage of the summer season, when visitors were
in the village, they engaged a public hall for four months, and hoped to get
eminent ministers to conduct the services. But before next spring appear-
ances were so discouraging that, with the advice of the Mission Board, the
experiment was discontinued. In the parish there were three churches — the
Established, the Free, and the Episcopal — and the resident population was
under 2000. But eight years after this a door was opened, and the Presby-
tery of Stirling was pressed to enter in and take possession. At a modera-
tion for a colleague and successor to the Free Church minister in October
1892 the Rev. John Miller of Eyemouth received 109 votes, and Mr Geddes,
probationer, now of Largs, 95. This was followed by a moderation at large,
when Mr Miller again had a majority, but as only 165 members signed the
call out of 364 it was not sustained. After considerable delay the opposing
parties agreed that two candidates should be voted upon, and that the
candidate having the majority should be unanimously elected, but the
arrangement was departed from. The supporters of Mr Miller were dis-
7M
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
appointed at not obtaining the man of their choice, and on 4th April 1893 thej
sent commissioners to the U.P. Presbytery of Stirling with a view to being
received as a forming congregation. A fortnight later a petition for sennor
was forthcoming signed by 97 members, and a deputation was appointee
to visit the locality. The applicants had taken no part in the seconc
moderation, which issued in a technically unanimous call to the pre;
minister. They now explained that they were dissatisfied with the result
and, as we understand, with the procedure of the Presbytery in setting
aside the former call to Mr Miller ; that they had withdrawn from the
Free Church, and were determined not to return. They believed, moreover,!
that they could raise ^160 of stipend without difficulty, and they would aim]
at being self-supporting. Instead of the preaching station attempted eightj
years before, here was a congregation ready to assume full-grown dimen-i
sions. But first of all it would be courteous to consult the Free Presb)tery!j
of Dunblane, and with this view two members of Stirling Presbytery waited?
on that Court, but were informed that the conference was fixed for a week
later. When the appointed day came, a letter from the two U.P. brethren
intimated that on reflection they felt their commission to have ceased at the
former meeting, and all they could do was to report their procedure to their
own Presbytery. Stirling Presbytery approved of what their representatives
had done, and on 28th August 82 certificates were given in, and a U.P.
congregation formed at Callander. A church was also erected at a cost of
;^640, without external aid. In less than a month eight elders were con-
stituted into a session, five of whom had held office before, and in another
month a call was addressed to the Rev. A. J. B. Paterson, junior minister
of Duns (East), but he declined.
First Minister. — A. Miller Marshall, from Jarrow, to which he had
been transferred three years before from Newarthill. Inducted, 20th
February 1894. The call was signed by 119 members and 26 adherents,
and the people ventured to promise a stipend of ^220. This was more than
up to the level of self-support, and it would all have been well if success had
answered to high-strung expectation. But in 1896 the people found their
resources overtaxed, and in recommending their case to the Supplementing
Board the Presbytery attested that their average contributions per member
for congregational purposes were the highest in the Presbytery. The sum
was now reduced to ^i6o, which was raised by supplement and surplus
to ^206. But before this the congregation purchased a house to be a
manse for their minister, and this involved them in a heavy debt, under
which they moved on till June 1899, when, owing to heavy losses by deaths
and removals, they found they were unable to meet the interest on the
manse bonds. The best thing, they believed, would be to hand over the
building to the bond-holders, a course of which the Presbytery approved,
and which was carried out in the early part of 1900. The membership,
which stood at 135 three years before, had now declined to 106, but the,j
stipend was still maintained at ^160.
CONGREGATIONS OVERLOOKED 7^5
CONGREGATIONS OVERLOOKED
CAMPHILL (Presbytery of Glasgow)
On I St June 1872 a church hall, with 430 sittings, was opened on the margin
of Queen's Park for public worship. The locality is in the parish of Cathcart,
and attracts interest from having been the scene of the first induction services
at Glasgow in connection with the Secession Church. The present move-
ment originated in June of the previous year with a few members of Erskine
Church, who, when Dr Drummond left for London, took the opportunity to
form a new congregation a mile and a half farther south, and hence much
more convenient for themselves. On 12th August 1873 members were con-
gregated to the number of 93. On 19th October a session of eight elders
was constituted, six of whom had held office before, most of them in Eglinton
Street or Erskine Church, and at least one in Langside Road. Among
them was the Rev. A. R. Johnstone, formerly of Letham. On 10th February
1874 a moderation was granted, the stipend promised being ^500, besides
expenses. /<- 1 j
First Minister.— ]OS^vn Corbett, translated from Manchester (Coupland
Street) in the twelfth year of his ministry, the first seven of which had been
spent at Kilcreggan. Inducted, 6th May 1874. On Sabbath, 8th October
1876, the church was opened by Dr Drummond of St John's Wood, London,
who preached in the forenoon. The collections reached ^1218, and the
buildings cost ^18,000. Of this sum only a small proportion remains, and it
is counterbalanced by the money resting on mission premises at Tradeston,
which were opened in 1892. In 1884 Mr Corbett received the degree of
D.D. from Glasgow University. At the close of 1899 Camphill had a
membership of 1044, and the stipend for at least a dozen years had been
;^8oo.
ANNIESLAND CROSS (Presbytery of Glasgow)
This district was marked out for Church Extension purposes in September
1898, but the hall, which accommodates 300, was not opened till August 1899.
It is situated on the Great Western Road three-fourths of a mile out from
Kelvinside, at a meeting-point between the three counties of Lanark, Dum-
barton, and Renfrew, and has public works of various kinds within a circum-
ference of a mile. The nearest churches were Temple quoad sacra, in New
Kilpatrick parish, a little to the north, and Jordanhill Free Church, consider-
ably farther to the south. The station was placed under the care of the
Rev. J. W. Pringle, formerly of Jedburgh, who fostered it till it was ready
for being congregated. This was done on 26th February 1900, the petition
to that effect bearing 50 signatures.
First Minister.— ROBKJt.T L. Browning, M.A., who had been fourteen
years in Mid-Calder. Inducted, 19th June 1900. The call was signed by
53 members and 21 adherents. The stipend which the people undertook to
raise was /no, and to make it up to ^250 there was to be a grant from the
Board of £140 for the first year, ^115 for the second, and ;^90 for the third.
The hall in which the congregation meets cost i?i4505 of which ^1150 came
from the Presbytery's Extension Fund.
7i6
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
ARDEER (Presbytery of Kilmarnock and Ayr)
In December 1881 the Presbytery of Kilmarnock fixed on Stevenston as
suitable field for mission work. The town is fully a mile to the east
Saltcoats, and in the parish there was a population of between 5000 and
6000, with only the Established and the Free churches. Next July a school
room was leased at Ardeer, which lies a little farther to the east, with largj
public works, and Mr Robert Hamilton, now of Grangemouth, was chosei|
to conduct regular evangelistic services. Towards the end of 1882 th<
Presbytery proceeded with the building of a mission hall at a cost of ^5c
After another year Mr Hamilton, in compliance with a largely-signed petition
from the people among whom he laboured, consented to go on with the worlj
for the time, and defer entering the Divinity Hall. This continued till th^
session of 1887, and shortly afterwards his place was taken by Mr Jame^
Westwater, a probationer from Union Church, Kirkcaldy. On iitl
November 1890 the station at Ardeer was congregated, and in March'
following Mr Westwater accepted a call to Blyth, Northumberland, where
he has since laboured. In the beginning of 1892 liberty of moderation was
granted, the membership being 108, and the people promising to contribute
£70 of stipend, which was to be raised by supplement, surplus, and a grant
of ^35 from the Ferguson Fund, to ^192 in all.
First Minister. — Andrew M. Moodie, from Limekilns. Ordained, 28th
June 1892. At the close of the year there were 139 names on the communion
roll and a total income of ^215. The church, with 470 sittings, was opened
on Friday, 14th June 1895, by Dr A. R. MacEwen of Claremont Church,
Glasgow. To aid with the cost of ^2650 the Extension Fund allowed .^250,
the Ferguson trustees ^250, and the Debt Liquidation Board ^200, making
up £700. In July 1900 the remaining debt of ^275 was cleared off, the odd
£75 being remitted on condition that the other ^200 was made up. The
membership at the beginning of that year was 180, and the stipend from the
people ^90. Ardeer had now a population of some 3000, and formed a part
of Stevenston.
FOOTNOTES OMITTED
Page 351. — Ei-nest F. Scott, father of our minister at Prestwick, was from
Erskine Church, Arbroath. Ordained at Towlaw, Durham, on 21st June
1864. The congregation was of recent origin, and mainly through their
minister's exertions the church and manse, costing ^^1300, were erected in
the following year. The Presbytery calculated from the first that whoever
went to Towlaw would have much to discourage, partly from limited
population, and though under Mr Scott there was gratifying increase at
first, after seventeen years, largely from family considerations, he removed
to Glasgow. There for other seventeen years he was Chaplain at Gartnavel
Asylum, and most of that time in the eldership of Lansdowne Church. He
died, 28th December 1899, in his sixty-seventh year. In the U.P. Magazine
for 1890 we have from Mr Scott's pen a comprehensive sketch of Dr Leckie
of Ibrox, with whom he had been on terms of warm friendship since th^
Doctor's Muirton days.
Page 495. — Charles Robertson, believed to have been a native of Caputl:
parish, which links him with the congregation either of Kinclaven or
Lethendy. Having completed his theological course under Prafesso|
Paxton he was called to Huntly in 1814, and to Holm, in Orkney, in i8i|
FOOTNOTES 717
but would accept neither. His name disappears from the probationer list in
1832, and he settled down as a farmer north from Perth, retaining few traces
of his former avocation about him, and becoming widely known. George
Gilfillan has described Charles Robertson under a fictitious name, and amid
fictitious surroundings, as "a natural sage, the first rude shapings of a
Socrates." He says : " His nature in its homely width seemed to adjust
itself to all varieties of company and character," and " He had a racy vein
of sarcasm, which was fed by an extensive knowledge of human nature, and
a little embittered by disappointment." He lived during his closing years in
a cottage near Scone, where he died, nth April 1862, aged seventy-six.
Some may still remember, as Gilfillan did, "his tall, clumsy form, his big
brow, sagacious face., and broad, Lowland accent." He was never married,
and by his will he showed kindly interest in his minister, the Rev. James
Hill.
Page 642. — James Skinner was from the Abernethy section of Edens-
head congregation. Got licence from Perth Presbytery in April 1850, that
of Kinross not being then formed. After completing his probationary
course he spoke sometimes of going back to farming, but he continued
on the list of occasional supply to the end. He died, 17th April 1890,
aged seventy -two. Mr Skinner's Autobiography, published three years
afterwards under the kindly editorship of the Rev. Robert Smith, Kinross,
is a book that deserves to be much better known than it is, with its graphic
forthsettings of preacher life as it was fifty years ago, and of much besides.
It is supplemented by ten discourses which Mr Skinner designated "The
Majors of an Old Probationer," well thought out and thoroughly evangelical.
It was in pronunciation and deUvery that the want of broad effectiveness
lay. His" Dissertations on Metaphysics" carry interest as disclosing the
author's favourite field of study and his acquirements therein, but from
the nature of the subject the volume is never likely to make headway in
the world.
Page 649. — William Ritchie was inducted into his second charge, at
Chapel Street, Berwick, on 26th May 1835. He had much trouble during
his first years owing to a serious misunderstanding between the two Relief
sessions in the place. His resignation, on the ground of ill-health, was
accepted, 9th May 1859, preparatory to the ordination of Mr James M'Leish,
a native of Auchtergaven, as his successor, and at the time of the Union
minister of Towerhill Church, Woolen Mr Ritchie was inclined to retain
connection with the congregation, while giving up the greater part of his
stipend, but the arrangement adopted was deemed preferable. He after-
wards studied Medicine, and had his degree of M.D. from St Andrews. He
also joined the Congregationalists, and conducted religious services in
Liskeard and other places in England. He retired to Anstruther as years
advanced, and died there, 30th November 1882, aged eighty-two. In 1857
he had appeared as the author of a book, entitled " Azuba ; or, the Forsaken
Land," a series of lectures published after his return from a tour in the East,
and described as " addressed to his own people and to various congregations
on the Borders and throughout Scotland."
APPENDIX
THE CHURCH CASE IN THE LIGHT OF SECESSION AND
RELIEF HISTORY
This field, with its wide and varied bearings, has been little entered durir
recent discussions. Yet it was to an early Secession case — that of Craij
dallie v. Aikman — that the five adverse judges of the House of Lore
successively appealed as their leading authority for the conclusion at whi(
they arrived, and it was partly that case, we take it, which led Lord Davey xi
speak of " the fetters forged by an earlier generation."
1. Lord Eldon laid down the broad principle in the above case that th«
property was not to go to those "who have departed altogether from thi
religious principles of those who founded this place." In quoting th«
deliverance, is no weight to be attached to that word "altogether"? Lore
Eldon also spoke of those assembling in a particular church, " to join in thfl
worship prescribed by the founder," being deprived of the benefit intended
for them. In quoting these words, did Lord Davey not observe that the^
bore on a lawsuit in which certain Orthodox Dissenters complained thai
Unitarians had usurped possession of their place of worship, which was
departure " altogether " from the religious principles of the founders ? Is thfl
making of the Establishment theory an open question exactly parallel ?
2. Lord Davey cannot pronounce any tenet or doctrine professed by ai
association as not fundamental " unless the parties have themselves declared
it to be so." Now, in the estimation of Lord Davey and his four brethren, Di
Chalmers was the man who fixed the foundations of the Free Church fror
the Moderator's Chair in 1843. ^^t, before the echoes of that speech hac
died away, Dr Chalmers was avowing his conviction that the points of difference
between him and his former antagonists on the State Church question were
to the points of agreement like the mint, the anise, and the cummin to the
weightier matters of the law. Was that not a declaration that, in his opinionJ
this particular point of difference was neither "vital, essential, nor funda4
mental"? But had Lord Davey been present he would, perhaps, have inter-|
posed saying : " Too late ! By your speech as Moderator of Assembly yot
have nailed the colours to the mast, and under these colours the vesse|
must sail till she reaches the shores of eternity."
3. If more were needed we might draw from the utterances of Dl
Candlish, next to Dr Chalmers the leader of the Disruption. He asked oi
the same occasion : " Is division or schism of the Christian Church to
kept up by the question as to the duty of another party over whom we have
no control?" But judge-law represents the millions of money poured intc
the coffers of the Free Church for the next fifty-seven years as all designee
to keep the Establishment theory above board, and perpetuate schisr
over a question which Dr Cunningham pronounced to be with them "purelj
theoretical." Yet Lord Davey tests essentials by the utterances of th^
parties themselves.
4. The Perth Case centred in a brief Preamble or Declaratory Act bjj
which students at licence and ministers at ordination were freed froi
718
APPENDIX 719
approving of anything in their standard books favouring compulsory measures
in religion. This made the magistrate's duty to suppress heresies, as taught
in the Westminster Confession, an open question. It made the sin of
tolerating a false religion, as taught in the Larger Catechism, an open
question. Kings and those in authority bound " to root out of their empire
all heretics and enemies to the true worship of God," as taught in our
National Covenant — it made that an open question. This was playing^
fast and loose with the foundation principles of the Burgher Secession — at
least Lord Chancellor Halsbur^^ would have pronounced the evidence to
that effect "overwhelming." It is certain that the Preamble of the Burgher
Synod diluted the doctrines of the standards on magistracy far more than
the Declaratory Act of 1892 has diluted the Calvinism of the Westminster
Confession.
5. Perth congregation divided into Old Lights and New Lights — the senior
minister heading the one party and the junior the other. Lord Eldon, when
the case came before him, brushed aside all questions about majorities either
in point of numbers or of interest. Their property, he said, must go to those
who have kept by the doctrines of the Secession at the time the church
was built. The Court- of Session applied Lord Eldon's dictum, and found
that the New Lights had done nothing to destroy their identity with the first
Seceders or entail the loss of the building. They had merely declared that
" they could not agree to those compulsory measures which the other party
alleged were required by the Covenants." The fetters of which Lord Davey
speaks were not yet in working order — or rather, the sound legal principle
laid down by Lord Eldon had not yet been turned into a yoke of bondage.
6. When the case came back to the House of Lords, Lord Eldon pro-
nounced it be "one of the most difficult and distressing" that he ever met
with. "Tell me," said Sidney Smith, "that Lord Eldon has assented to the
fact of two and two making four without shedding tears or expressing the
smallest doubt or scruple — tell me anything absurd or incredible." It would
have been well for his own comfort had he possessed a little of the expertness
with which the present Lord Chancellor cleared up the doctrine of Predestina-
tion. Lord Eldon on this occasion confessed himself baffled to make out that
the New Light party in Perth had swerved from the original principles of
the first seceders by adopting the Declaratory Act with the open questions
which it involved. Yet the five lords of the majority in the present Case,
while they made much of Lord Eldon's general remarks, ran counter to
Lord Eldon's final decision.
7. In the Campbeltown Case the vital question was : Can a Relief con-
gregation abandon Establishment principles without forfeiting all right to
their church property? A small minority in Campbeltown Church kept by
their minister, who had declared for union with the Establishment. They next
attempted to oust their brethren from their place of worship because they
adhered to the Synod, which had taken exception to the Confession of
Faith in so far as " it recognises the power of the magistrate to interfere in
religious matters." Was this not enough to cost the congregation the loss
of all things ? So thought the Scottish Guardian of that day, as it boasted
that " the Campbeltown chapel will be merely the first of a number of their
chapels which will be wrested from the grasp of V'^oluntary usurpation."
8. Here the minority were entitled to plead that what they called "old
Relief principles" on the head of magistracy were simply those of the
Westminster Confession, and that Gillespie, Boston, and Baine, when they
passed outside the Establishment, did not leave their Establishment principles
behind them. The language of their Supreme Court at an early time ran
thus : " They do not consider themselves as seceders from the Church of
720 HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Scotland, but as of the same principles as the clergy of the popular interest
of the said Church profess." But now the Relief Synod had turned againsi
the State Church as "a Church which stands in opposition to the truths o|
the Bible." Indeed, the evidence in favour of the minority's contention tha|
the Longrow Church in Campbeltown must be theirs if property were to go
with old principles, important or unimportant, the present Lord Chancellor
would have pronounced " overwhelming."
9. The Lord Ordinary was troubled with the question whether the point
in dispute was one of the essentials, " the least departure from which willl
affect the use of the property." He was not aware, as Lord Davey is, thatj
the only touchstone of non-essentials " is the utterances of the parties them-
selves." But in the Inner Court the touchstone of common-sense sufficed.
One of the judges maintained that the minority had failed to prove the!
Establishment principle to have been held originally " as a fundamental
and essential tenet of the Relief Church." Another explained that the]
religious opinions, departure from which is to forfeit the property, must be'
no abstract opinion such as influences character and conduct ; and the third
stated that he had set himself to discover whether there had been on the
part of the Synod any such deviation from the principles of the Relief as
" essentially changed the character of the tenets and faith originally pro-
fessed," and he had reached a negative conclusion. The majority had not,
as Lord Eldon expressed it, " departed altogether from the religious principles
of those who founded this house." The fetters still refuse to take hold, and
the majority are left in undisturbed possession of their place of worship.
10. A rigid application of Lord Eldon's sound legal principle would have
had noteworthy results at the Union of 1820. Covenanting as hitherto
practised among the Antiburghers was now made an open question. The
Article of Agreement reads thus : " Every scriptural facility shall be afforded
to those who have clearness to proceed in it, but its observance shall not be
required of any in order to Church communion." But the renovation of the
covenants was with the first seceders the term "of Christian communion in
the admission of people to sealing ordinances," and from this foundation
principle the Antiburghers had never departed. Now eleven of their
ministers refused to be guilty of "apostacy from their good profession," and
besides their own congregations generally they had a few followers through-
out the denomination. These parties the recent decision would have made
masters of the situation, and the Antiburgher Synod would have been found
to have lost its identity.
11. Apply now Lord Eldon's principle to a case which occurred in the
United Presbyterian Church in 1872. That year the use of instrumental
music in public worship was made an open question by the Synod. This
was going dead against the principles of the early Secession and Relief
Churches. In 1758 the Antiburgher Synod issued a warning against corrupt-
ing the spirituality of gospel worship by " chanting of prayers and instru-
mental music," and the Relief Synod in 1829 excluded a minister and
congregation in Edinburgh from their fellowship for refusing to part with an
organ which they had introduced into their chapel. Now, in 1872, the
Rev. James S. Taylor of Glasgow renounced connection because he regarded
the United Presbyterian Church " as having on a point of vital importance
ceased to be a witness for truth in the land." Had he and the few members
who adhered to him claimed Hutchesontown Church they would have been
bound on present-day principles to succeed. The opposing plea that the
question was of subordinate importance would have failed, as we have no
authority, it appears, except the utterances of the founders themselves, for]
treating any tenet of a religious association as non-essential or subordinate,'
APPENDIX 721
Even the plea that the building was bound to the denomination would not
avail, for the Synod by changing one of its tenets of doctrine would
be held to have lost its identity.
12. This brings us to the Kirkintilloch Case, in which Lord Eldon's
dictum began to be turned to disunion purposes. Dr Marshall, through
bitter disagreement with his brethren, had broken away from the Secession
Synod in view of their union with the Relief. He was accompanied by the
bulk of his congregation, but a small minority adhered to the Synod when
the junction came, and took steps to reclaim the meeting-house. The
decision was that the property belonged to the majority, and that no
congregation could be compelled to go into a union with another denomi-
nation. This was equity, and it might have been well for all parties had
the decision been brought to the foreground within recent years.
13. But in this Case one of the judges said for the defenders what they
could not have said for themselves : " This congregation have not changed
one opinion or tenet of their forefathers of the Secession." Did he not
know that at the head of that congregation and that law case was the
great champion of Voluntaryism, the man who in one of his publications
had characterised establishments as a method of supporting religion,
" which does more to swell the ranks of infidelity than all the other causes
put together." Yet the Doctor at his jubilee spoke of adherence to " the
principles for the maintenance of which the property was acquired," and
added : "We ought to have claimed the M'Phail Legacy, the Synod house,
the library." It was the anti-unionism of the present hour speaking half-a-
century before its time.
14. But in 1847 there was one specimen of anti-unionism on the Relief
side also. Their Synod, according to Dr John Craig of Cupar, had pulled
down the denominational flag of free communion, and, come what might,
he would none of it. After two years he and his handful of adherents
were received into the Established Church. They at the same time made
over to the Church of Scotland "the rights and titles to all funds and
properties which, as the last and sole just and legal representatives of the
Relief Church and Synod, they can lawfully and justly claim." Certain of
their number were also armed with full power "to sue and defend in all
actions respecting the same." It turned out that they had nothing to
convey and nothing to litigate about, but the recent decision of the
House of Lords gives meaning to the above exhibition and lifts it from
the ridiculous into mock sublimity.
15. In Thurso Case we have the anti-union spirit of judge-made law in
fuller development. A "scrimp" majority of Thurso Original Secession
congregation had voted to go along with a "scrimp" majority of their
Synod into union with the Free Church, but in the Court of Session, Lord
Wood being the chief speaker, it was declared that any minority, however
small, opposing a union, had a legal right to the property. "The material
thing is the adherence to the Church as originally constituted and the
refusal to give up the name of the body and its testimonies." In Thurso
Case there were specialities which might justify the decision arrived at,
but here was the principle laid down that a non-union minority, however
minute, may wrest the property from the Union majority, however large,
even though no change should be alleged in fundamentals.
16. We have now reached a height from which we see the union of
churches frowned on by Scottish legislation. Yet in the Disruption year
Dr Chalmers said, in the second Free Assembly : " I think every man
whose heart is in its right place will be delighted with such movements.
They are movements quite in my favourite direction, because one and all
II. iz
722
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
of them are movements of convergency." But a few years after this the!
Second Division of the Court of Session placed themselves not only in
antagonism to Dr Chalmers' fraternal aspirations, and to the better feelings i
of the Church universal, but to the Saviour's Intercessory Prayer : " That
they all may be one ; as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee." It was I
Lord Eldon's words misapplied about property being forfeited by those " who.]
have departed altogether from the religious principles " of the founders.
17. But though union on equal terms is frowned on. Lord Robertson urges]
nothing against absorption, as when the Original Seceders coalesced with
the Free Church. Being sound, he says, on the Establishment principle
they were admitted with full honours. Yes ; but the speeches delivered
on the Thurso Case make manifest that the step the Original Seceders
took exposed them to the spoiling of their goods according to the decree
of our high court functionaries. The Original Seceders believed that they
might maintain their principles in communion with the Free Church, but
could they retain their property? So little tolerance has judge-made law
for "movements of convergency" that in a Union congregation a non-
union minority, however small, can appropriate the place of worship
without even alleging "departure from original principles" on the part of
the majority.
18. "Surely," said Lord James, "there is a great gulf between the
principle of Establishment and that of Voluntaryism." It resembles a
pronouncement of Dr Burns of Toronto more than fifty years ago: "The
Secession Church of Canada is separated from the Free Church by the
7nare magnum of social infidelity." Both the great gulf and the mare
magnum contrast with Dr Chalmers' estimate of the mint, the anise and
the cummin. If the question of National Establishments was with the
Free Church in 1843 "a purely theoretical one," as Dr Cunningham testi-
fied, how has it become a sea so vastly broad and so profoundly deep ?
But Lord James, like Lord Davey, is alive to the difficulty of reaching a
standard of distinction between essentials and non-essentials ; only he
thinks that " the donors who may have responded to Dr Chalmers' appeal "
must have understood that the two sister Churches united in 1900 were
like two rivers, perpetually to flow apart, and refuse to mingle.
19. The great gulf of which Lord James speaks was bridged over many
years ago by the Churches in Canada, Nova Scotia, Victoria, New Zealand,.
Queensland, South Australia, and New South Wales, and in these colonies
the mare magnum has disappeared altogether. In each case there was a
relaxing of the standards on the question of magistracy, and in Canada
specially the fullest forbearance was allowed on the subject of State En-
dowments. If so, the Lord Chancellor would, perhaps, say again : " It
becomes but a colourable union, and no trust funds devoted to one form
of faith can be shared by another communion" on any such terms. His
Lordship speaks as if different Views on the relations of Church and State
constituted " different forms of faith." When Paul wrote about " the unity
of the faith," does his Lordship understand that he meant oneness of]
opinion among his converts as to the authority and duty of the Emperor j
Nero to establish and endow the Apostolic Church ?
20. The Lord Chancellor has recently explained that the judges are]
determined to do justice, and, as Lord Robertson remarked at the time :[
" Justice is done by giving people, not what fits them, but what belongs to]
them." The Free Church Assembly in 1867 found by a majority of almost|
three to one that "there does not seem to be any insuperable barrier" tc
union between the negotiating churches. Yet the funds and legacies made
over to the Free Church since that expressive declaration was made are:!
APPENDIX 723
turned into a hostile channel, that justice may be done by giving people
what belongs to them. We are tempted to say, in the Lord Chancellor's
words on another occasion : " No one could suppose that an enlightened
community would regard in the slightest degree such a determination."
21. Lord Robertson is not so well acquainted with the closing chapter
of Reformed Presbyterian History as he is with Free Church "funda-
mentals." He alleges that the Free Assembly admitted " the extreme right
in Presbyterian orthodoxy" into fellowhip with them after being satisfied
that " they were sound on the Establishment principle." Their soundness
on this point consisted in their Synod declaring unanimously nine years
before in favour of making that essential tenet of the faith an open question
for the sake of union. We may add that, in Lord Alverstone's opinion,
"maintenance of the EstabHshment principle was the Basis of Union
between the Free Church and the Reformed Presbyterian Church." If so,
it was a basis which both had avowed their readiness to abandon at the
first suitable opportunity.
22. The recent Union has been characterised as a clerical affair
which it required engineering to compass. This clamour recalls Edmund
Burke's words : " Faction will make its cries resound through the nation,
as if the whole were in an uproar." Still, it might have been of advantage
had the people been more fully consulted while negotiations were going on.
When the Union of 1847 was first discussed at full length in the Secession
Synod, the proposal was sent down to Presbyteries and sessions for de-
liberate and prayerful consideration. The Relief Synod, which was more
democratic in its leanings, remitted the subject to Presbyteries, sessions,
and churches, with instructions to report. At a later stage the largest
Presbytery on that side ordered the Basis of Union to be laid before every
congregation under their inspection. Dr Strutters, their leading man, tells
that he proceeded as follows : — " I first gave an account of the Basis at a
congregational prayer meeting ; next I laid it before the session, and had
it discussed ; and lastly I called a congregational meeting expressly for the
purpose of reading and considering it, and the report of that meeting I
carried to the Presbytery." True, the adoption of any such method might
in some cases bring latent opposition to the surface, but confidence in the
people will have its reward in the end.
23. The United Church, Lord Alverstone has ascertained, makes an
open question of whether it is within the province of the civil magistrate
" to endow the Church out of the national resources " — that is, whether it
is right or wrong to let her wring part of her maintenance from men of
any religion or of no religion at all. The Free Church might surely be
excused doubting whether this constitutes "a right connection between
Church and State," or at least whether it is wrong to make that an open
question. Indeed, it may be thought that such an application of public
funds is as bad as their own alleged breach of trust, an offence which the
Moderator of the anti-Union Assembly thinks would be fitly atoned for by
penal servitude.
24. Of more serious import than this is the strong position which the
anti-Union Church is taking up on the freeness of the gospel offer. One
of their leading men gives out that the gospel is to be preached to every
creature, " but it is in connection with the presentation of divine sovereignty
in grace." The meaning is that in discoursing from the text " Ho, every-
one that thirsteth," if we liken the mercy of God in Christ to the long,
abundant flow from the smitten rock, we must wind up, as a certain minister
is said to have done, with words like these : " But, my friends, I must be
as honest as tell you that unless you be among the number of the elect, not
724
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
one of you will ever participate." That is the universal offer, "in connection
with the presentation of divine sovereignty in grace." But that doctrinal
attitude may be thought needful if the anti-Union Church is to keep fully
aloof from " the Arminianism of the Declaratory Act " and evince due respect
for the theological acquirements of the Lord Chancellor.
25. The convulsions occasioned by the decision in the Church Case will
affect higher interests than those of property. Our younger ministers especi-
ally are certain to have their respect lessened for creeds and standards.
Over against this, we have a leader in the councils of the anti-Union
Church declaring that every sentence in the Westminster Confession is
" taken from and proved by the Word of God." Does he think, then, that
the action of Herod the Great in calling the chief priests and scribes
together, and demanding of them where Christ should be born, is proof from
the New Testament that the civil magistrate has power " to call Synods,
to be present at them, and to provide that whatsoever is transacted in
them be according to the Word of God ? " As for reckless criticism of
the sacred records, it is to be pointedly condemned, but the spirit of
awakened inquiry will not be suppressed though the anti-Union Assembly
should make traditionary views of Scripture the Article of a standing or
falling Church.
26. These two volumes illustrate in ample measure the evils of disunion
among Christian brethren. The Breach in the early Secession stirred un-
hallowed feelings, led to the setting up of altar against altar, and turned
attention away from better things. Surveying the field of disaster, the
Burgher Synod proclaimed a fast throughout their congregations, saying :
*' The Lord had divided us in His anger, and covered the daughter of Zion
with a thick cloud, giving us the wine of astonishment to drink." Dr
Chalmers welcomed " movejnents of convergency " with the promise of
incorporation in the end ; but meanwhile antipathies are at work keener
than prevailed when the highest censures of the Church were going. We
are now in course of seeing rival Churches rising in poor, thinly-peopled
districts, especially in the Highlands, with sectarian animosities poisoning
the religious atmosphere around — that is scarcely the sense in which God
makes the wrath of man to praise Him.
27. Much has been said during recent years about the reconstruction of
our National Establishment, but very clearly this must lie aside for the time.
How can its chief advocate widen out his scheme to embrace a Church which
his brethren consider to have no right to existence as a Church at all ? Will
the distinction which the Moderator of the anti-Union Assembly emphasises
between clean beasts and unclean be got over by enlarging the dimensions
of the ark which contains them ? But perhaps, beneath unpromising appear-
ances, there are hidden affinities at work, and, sooner than we anticipate, a
brighter day may dawn on the fortunes of the sorely disrupted Presby-
terianism of Scotland.
INDEX
I.— CONGREGATIONS
Abernethy —
Antiburgher, 583
Burgher, 586
Airdrie —
South Bridge Street, 126
Wellwynd, 123
Alloa—
Townhead, 679
West, 682
Alva, 708
Anniesland Cross, 715
Anstruther, 398
Ardeer, 716
Ardrossan, 319
Auchinleck, 325
Auchterarder —
North, 598
South, 596
Auchtergaven —
Antiburgher, 644
Relief, 647
Ayr —
Antiburgher, 327
Cathcart Street, 330
Darlington Place, 328
Trinity Church, 332
Wallace Street, 332
Baillieston, 134
Balbeggie, 650
Balfour, 582
Bannockburn, 706
Barrhead, 142
Beith—
Head Street, 531
Mitchell Street, 528
Bellshill, 222
Gillespie Church, 409
Moat Park, 407
Birsay, 489
Bishopbriggs, 160
Blairlogie, 695
Blantyre, 241
Bonkle, 403
Bothwell, 133
725
Braehead, 418
Bridge of Allan, 710
Bridge of Teith, 675
Bridge of Weir, 543
Buchlyvie, 687
Buckhaven —
Burgher, 393
Muiredge, 395
Burntisland, 362
Burntshields, 510
Burra Isles, 658
Burray, 506
Busby, 145
Callander, 713
Cambuslang, 130
Campbeltown —
Relief, 185, 720
United Secession, 189
Campsie, 156
Carluke, 426
Carnwath, 423
Cathcart, 148
Catrine, 347
Clackmannan, 702
Climpy, 421
Clousta, 662
Coalsnaughton, 712
Coatbridge —
Blairhill, 129
Coatdyke, 130
Dunbeth, 128
Coldstream —
East, 272
West, 270
Colinsburgh —
Relief, 376
New Relief, 379
Colmonell, 323
Comrie, 610
Coupar- Angus —
Antiburgher, 565
Burgher, 573
Relief, 570
Craigend, 562
Craigmore, 211
Crail, 396
Creetown, 15
Crieff—
Antiburgher, 623
Relief, 627
Crossford, 424
Cumnock, 333
Dalreoch, 601 ^—
Dairy, Ayr, 302
Darvel, 321
Dollar, 711
Douglas, 421
Dunblane —
Antiburgher, 693
Burgher, 690
Dunning —
Burgher, 588
Relief, 592
Dunoon, 198
Dysart, 384
Eaglesham, 140
Earlston —
East, 434
United, 439
West, 437
East Kilbride, 235
Eday, 504
Elsridgehill, 411
Errol—
Antiburgher, 574
Relief, 576
Eshaness, 661
Fen wick, 313
Firth, 508
Galashiels —
East, 466
South, 469
West, 468
Galston, 316
Gatehouse, 19
Giffhock, 149
Girvan, 341
726
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Glasgow —
Albert Street, 85
Alexandra Parade, 78
Anderston, 36
Bath Street, 72
Belhaven, no
Bellgrove, 86
Berkeley Street, 97
Blackfriars Street, 68
Burn bank, 81
Caledonia Road, 91
Calton, 58
Cambridge Street, 67
Campbell Street (East),
42
Camphill, 715
Cathedral Square, 27
Claremont, 93
Cranstonhill, 89
Cumberland Street, 88
Dalmarnock Road, 107
Dennistoun, 104
Eglinton Street, 65
Elgin Street, 80
Erskine Church, 61
Gillespie, 75
Govanhill, 108
Greenhead, 52
Greyfriars, 22
Hutchesontown, 50
Ibrox, 102
John Street, 46
Kelvingrove, 32
Kelvinside, 113
Kent Road, 100
Langside Road, 97
Lansdowne, loi
London Road, 71
Maryhill, 92
Mount Florida, 109
Newlands, 115
Nithsdale, 1 12
Oatlands, 109
Overnewton, Henderson
Memorial, iii
Parkhead, 106
Plantation, 106
Pollok Street, 94
Polmadie, 114
Queen's Park, 103
Regent Place, 55
Regent Place (East), 70
Renfield Street, 76
Rockvilla, 90
St George's Road, 104
St Rollox, 84
St Vincent Street, 64
Sandy ford, 83
Shamrock Street, 77
Shettleston, 114
Glasgow — continued
Springbank, 87
Springburn, 95
Wellfield, 96
Sydney Place, 39
Tollcross, 54
Wellington, 44
Whitevale, 98
Woodlands Road, 73
Glengarnock, 321
Glenluce, 14
Gourock, 201
Govan, 119
Fairfield, 121
Greenend, 605
Greenloaning, 685
Greenock —
Cartsdyke, 168
Finnart, 181
Greenbank, 171
Mount Pleasant, 180
Sir Michael Street, 177
St Andrew Square, 179
Trinity Church, 174
Union Street, 178
Hallside, 245
Hamilton —
Auchingramont, 215
Avon Street, 218
Brandon Street, 220
Burnbank, 222
Saffronhall, 211
Hawick —
Allars Church, 460
East Bank, 457
Orrock Place, 455
Wilton, 462
Holm, 495
Hurlford, 322
Innellan, 208
Innerleithen, 473
Innerleven and Methil, 390
Inveraray, 200
Irvine —
Relief, 298
Trinity, 300
Jedburgh —
Blackfriars, 253
Castle Street, 256
High Street, 258
Johnstone —
East, 537
West, 534
Kelso —
Antiburgher, 266
Burgher, 262
East, 268
Kennoway, 372
Kilbarchan, 532
Kilcreggan, 206
Kilmalcolm, 540
Kilmarnock —
Clerk's Lane, 287
Holm, 294
King Street, 291
Portland Road, 284
Princes Street, 293
Kilmaurs, 277
Kilwinning —
Antiburgher, 281
United Secession, 282
Kinclaven, 636
Kinghorn, 389
Kinkell, 606
Kirkcaldy —
Bethelfield, 352
Loughborough Road, 360
Pathhead, 357
Union Church, 359
Victoria Road, 361
Kirkcowan, 20
Kirkintilloch —
Burgher, 150, 721
United Secession, 154
Kirkmaiden, 13
Kirkmuirhill, 244
Kirkwall, 481
Kirn, 205
Lanark —
Bloomgate, 415
Burgher, 412
Hope Street, 417
Langbank, 542
Largo, 382
Largs —
Burgher, 191
Relief, 192
Larkhall, 240
Lauder —
Antiburgher, 446
Burgher, 447
Relief, 450
United, 448
Leitholm, 276
Lenzie, 159
Lerwick, 653
Leslie —
Trinity, 369
West, 364
Lesmahagow, 427
Lethendy, 642
Leven, 400
Lilliesleaf, 470
Lismore, 163
Lochwinnoch, 538
Logiealmond, 616
INDEX
727
Markinch, 402
Mauchline, 337
Maybole, 338
Mearns, 135
Melrose, 472
Methven, 620
Midholm, 432
Millport, 207
Milngavie, 158
Morebattle, 246
Mossbank, 655
Motherwell —
First, 242
Dalziel, 243
Muirkirk, 344
Newarthill, 237
Newcastleton, 452
New Kilpatrick, 160
Newmilns, 296
Newton-Stewart, 11
Newtown, 463
Oban, 161
Ollaberry, 657
Paisley —
Abbey Close, 516
Canal Street, 519
George Street, 525
Lylesland, 528
Mossvale, 527
New Street, 524
Oakshaw Street, 514
Ralston, 745
St James', 522
Thread Street, 52 1
Partick —
Dowanhill, 115
East, 118
Newton Place, 117
Victoria Park, 119
Patna, 349
Perth-
Associate, 544
Perth — continued
Bridgend, 561
Canal Street, 558
East, 556
North, 545
Wilson Church, 551, 7l{
York Place, 560
Pitcairn, 631!
Pitcaim Green, 634
Pitrodie, 578
Pittenweem, 386
Pollokshaws, 138
Pollokshields, I22
Trinity, 122
Port-Glasgow —
Clune Park, 195
Princes Street, 1 93
Portree, 165
Port William, 17
Prestwick, 351
Renfrew, 541
Roberton, 419
Rothesay, 182
Rousay, 507
Rutherglen, 144
Greenhill, 145
St Ninians, 698
Saltcoats —
Antiburgher, 310
Burgher, 307
Relief, 305
United, 311
Sanday, 493
Sand wick, 501
Scalloway, 659
Scone, 639
Selkirk —
Antiburgher, 443
Burgher, 440
West, 445
Shapinshay, 502
Shotts, 230
Southend, 196
South Ronaldshay, 499
Stewarton, 312
Stirling —
Allan Park, 673
Erskine Church, 663
Viewfield, 670
Stitchel, 250
Stonehouse, 233
Stornoway, 167
Stow, 428
Stranraer —
Bellevilla, 6
Bridge Street, 8
Ivy Place, 4
West, 9
Strathaven —
East, 227 "
First, 225
West, 228
Stromness, 490
Stronsay, 485
Tarbolton, 335
Thornliebank, 147
Thurso, 480, 721
Tillicoultry, 704
Troon, 342
Uddingston, 134
West Kilbride, 317
Wemyss Bay, 209
Westray, 498
Whitburn, 232
Whithorn, 9
Wick, 475
Wigtown —
Antiburgher, I
Relief, 3
Wishaw, 239
Yelholm —
Burgher, 273
Burgher — New Light, 274
7*8
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
II.— MINISTERS AND OTHERS
Adam, Rev. Alexander, i66
Adam, Rev. James, 17
Adam, Rev. William, 85
Adams, Rev. James, 180, 522
Adamson, Rev. William, D.D., 289
Addie, Rev. John, 556
^die. Rev. Andrew, 671
Aikman, Rev. John Logan, D.D., 38,
.342
Aikman, Rev. Jedidiah, 552
Aird, Rev. John, 344
Aitchison, Rev. Thomas, 355
Aitken, Rev. W. F., 434
Aitken, Rev. Andrew 504
Aitken, Rev. James, D.D., 706
Alexander, Rev. Alexander C, 422
Alexander, Rev. Archibald B.D., 543
Alexander, Rev. John, 633
Alexander, Rev. Robert, 394
Alice, Rev. James, 171, 515
Alison, Rev. Archibald, 351, 369
Alison, Rev. George, 534
Alison, Rev. Matthew, 533
Allan, Rev. Robert, 705
Allan, Rev. Charles, 182, 460
Allan, Rev. Alexander, 567, 572
AUardyce, Rev. Alexander, 508
Allison, Rev. David J., 317
Alston, Rev. Andrew, 108, 297, 427
Anderson, Rev. Andrew IL, 94
Anderson, Rev. Andrew, 282
Anderson, Rev. James (Norham), 190
Anderson, Rev. James (Beith), 532
Anderson, Rev. James, D.D., 643
Anderson, Rev. James (Dunblane), 692
Anderson, Rev. John, 411
Anderson, Rev. Robert F., 697
Anderson, Rev. Robert, D.D., 105
Anderson, Rev. R. S. J., 105
Anderson, Rev. Thomas R., 121, 214
Anderson, Rev. William, 697
Anderson, Rev. William, LL.D., 24,
47, 134
Andrew, Rev. Robert B., 321
Armour, Rev. Samuel, 692
Arnot, Rev. Andrew, 433
Arnot, Rev. David, 379
Arnot, Rev. George, 414, 425
Arnot, Rev. William, 373
Arrot, Rev. Andrew, 476
Arthur, Rev. Robert, 558, 559
Atherton, Sir William, 249
Atkinson, Rev. George R., 384
Auld, Rev. James M., 55
Auld, Rev. Robert, 67, 479
Auld, Rev. William (Greenock), 177
Auld, Rev. William (Tollcross), 54
B
Baillie, Rev. Adam, 576
Baillie, Rev. Andrew, 657
Baillie, Rev. James, 222
Baillie, Rev. John, 557, 627
Bain, Rev. James, 359
Baird, Rev. Archibald, D.D., 522
Baird, Rev. John A., 189
Baird, Rev. John, 257
Baird, Rev. William, 132
Baird, Rev. Wilson, 338
Balderston, Rev. James C. , 319
Baldwin, Rev. William, 501
Balfour, Rev. Alexander, 488, 642
Ballantyne, Rev. James, 438
Ballantyne, Rev. John, 471
Banks, Rev. Alexander, 419
Banks, Rev. James, 294, 520
Bankhead, Rev. William T., 102
Bannatyne, Mr William, 617
Bannatyne, Rev. Peter, 133
Barclay, Rev. David, 276
Barclay, Rev. George (Dunscore), 137
Barclay, Rev. George (Greenock), 173
Barclay, Rev. John, 349
Barlas, Rev. George, 585
Barlas, Rev. James, 612, 624, 625
Barr, Rev. Alexander, 127
Barr, Rev. John, 34
Barr, Rev. William, 221, 261
Barras, Rev. William, 87
Barrie, Rev. James, 424
Barron, Rev. Douglas G., 591
Barron, Rev. Peter, 591
Bathgate, Rev. William, 290
Battersby, Rev. Matthew R., 217
Baxter, Rev. John C., D.D., 360
Bayne, Rev. William, 647
Beath, Rev. William, 635
Beattie, Rev. Alexander O., D.D., 64,
371
Beckett, Rev. William, 145
Bell, Rev. Benjamin, 210
Bell, Mr James, 34
Bell, Rev. Thomas, 33, 260
Bell, Rev. William, 628
Berrie, Rev. Alexander S., 509
Berry, Rev. James, 689
Beugo, Rev. John, 590
Beveridge, Rev. John, 432
INDEX
729
Beveridge, Rev. William W., 195
Biggart, Mr Thomas, 6
Billerwell, Rev. William, 385, 697
Birkmyre, Mr Henry, 195
Bishop, Rev. James, 567
Bissett, Rev. John, 395
Black, Rev. Alexander W., 17
Black, Rev. Armstrong, D.D., 207
Black, Rev. George (Kinghorn), 390
Black, Rev. George (Walker), 16
Black, Rev. James, D. D., 45
Black, Rev. James, 359
Black, Rev. John (Lochwinnoch), 540
Black, Rev. John (Newcastleton), 455
Black, Rev. Richard, 547
Black, Rev. Robert, 219
Blackwood, Rev. James, 316
Blair, Rev. George, 109
Blair, Rev. James, 613
Blair, Rev. John (Carnwath), 424
Blair, Rev. John (Colmonell), 324
Blair, Rev. John F., 50
Blair, Rev. Robert, D.D., 469
Blair, Rev. William, D.D., 692
Blantyre, Lord, 542
Blyth, Mr Thomas, 79
Blyth, Rev. Alexander, 636
Blyth, Rev. George, 78
Blue, Rev. Alexander W. , 50
Boag, Rev. George, 220
Boag, Rev. William, 593
Bonar, Rev. John, 258
Bonnar, Rev. James, D. D., 236
Boreland, Rev. James, 307
Borland, Rev. Alexander, 241
Borland, Rev. John W., 75, 416
Boston, Rev. Michael, 32, 260
Boston, Rev. Thomas, 32, 259, 376
Boyd, Rev. James, D.D., 188
Boyd, Rev. James C, 376
Boyd, Rev. John, 210
Boyd, Rev. John, D.D., 319, 525
Boyd, Rev. John G., 434
Boyd, Rev. William, 314
Bow, Rev. James, 558
Bowman, Rev. Thomas, 384
Bradley, Rev. Patrick, 471
Brand, Rev. John, 50
Brash, Rev. William, 40
Breingan, Rev. William, 704
Bright, John, 26
Broadfoot, Rev. William, 483
Brodie, Rev. John, 33
Brodie, Rev. Robert, 43
Brodie, Rev. W. C, 176
Brooks, Rev. George, 521, 537
Brougham, Lord, 554
Brown, Mr John, 163
Brown, Rev. Alexander ( PoUokshields),
122, 292
Brown, Rev. Alexander (Bellingham), 590
Brown, Rev. Alexander (Burntshields),
514
Brown, Rev. Colin, 585
Brown, Rev. David S., 507
Brown, Rev. Ebenezer, 23, 667
Brown, Rev. George, LL.D., 396, 588
Brown, Rev. George, 545, 551
Brown, Rev. Henry, 440
Brown, Rev. James (Campsie), 157
Brown, Rev. James (Balbeggie), 652
Brown, Rev. James, D.D., 334, 523
Brown, Rev. James (Shapinshay), 503
Brown, Rev. James (Creetown), 16
Brown, Rev. John, D.D. (Biggar), 407
Brown, Rev. John, D.D. (Langton), 218
Brown, Rev. John (Falkirk), 224, 596
Brown, Rev. John (Haddington), 263,
429
Brown, Rev. John (Kinclaven), 639
Brown, Rev. John (Pitcairn-Green), 634
Brown, Rev. John (Whitburn), 219,
408
Brown, Rev. Joseph, D.D., 100
Brown, Rev. Peter, 240, 461
Brown, Rev. Robert (Auchtergaven), 647
Brown, Rev. Robert (Brampton), 656
Brown, Rev. Robert (Cumnock), 334
Brown, Rev. Robert (Markinch), 403
Brown, Rev. Walter, 470
Brown, Rev. William (Clackmannan),
276, 703
Brown, Rev. William (Newarthill), 237
Browning, Rev. Archibald, 705
Browning, Rev. James, 476
Browning, Rev. Robert L. 715
Brownlee, Rev. Robert D., 356
Brownlie, Rev. Claude, 489
Bryce, Rev. James, 476
Bryce, Rev. R. J., LL.D., 478
Bruce, Michael, 24
Bruce, Rev. Archibald, 232
Bruce, Rev. John, D.D., 282, 296
Bruce, Rev. Robert S., 240
Brunton, Rev. Alexander, 85, 162
Buchan, Elspeth, 298
Buchan, Rev. Peter, 496, 501
Buchanan, Rev. David, 488
Buchanan, Rev. James (Glasgow), 26
Buchanan, Rev. James (Greenock), 181
Buist, Rev. John, 172
Burgess, Rev. William, 66
Burn, Rev. David, 481
Burns, Rev. David, 112
Burns, Rev. James, 575
Burns, Rev. John, 142
Burnet, Rev. William, 697
Burr, Rev. Alexander, 581
Burton, Rev. John T., 118, 297
Butchart, Rev. James S., 659
730 HISTORY OF U.P.
C
Caird, Rev. John, D.D., 577
Caims, Rev. David, 253
Cairns, Rev. John, 295
Cairns, Rev. Peter, 313
Cairns, Rev. Robert, 524, 525
Cairns, Rev. WilHam T. , 586
Calderwood, Rev. David, 159, 494
Calderwood, Rev. Henry, LL.D., 25
Caldwell, Rev. Archibald M., 271
Caldwell, Rev. James, D.D., 177, 410
Cameron, Mr John, 68
Cameron, Mr Thomas, 88
Cameron, Rev. David, 137
Cameron, Rev. James, 211
Cameron, Rev. James R., 207
Cameron, Rev. Robert (East Kilbride),
236
Cameron, Rev. Robert (Glasgow), 68,
550
Campbell, Rev. Alexander, 301
Campbell, Rev. George, 420
Campbell, Rev. George O., 229
Campbell, Rev. John (Glasgow), 61
Campbell, Rev. John (Jamaica), 647,
657
Campbell, Rev. John K., 180
Campbell, Rev. J. M'Leod, D.D., 197
Campbell, Rev. John (Tarbolton), 336
Campbell, Rev. Robert (Glasgow), 60,
86
Campbell, Rev. Robert (Stirling), 23,
138, 666
Campbell, Rev. William, 260, 385
Carlyle, Rev. Alex., D.D., 455
Carlyle, Thomas, 21, 66, 442
Carslaw, Rev. Robert, 15
Carmichael, Rev. Andrew W., 243
Carmichael, Rev. Hugh, 704
Carmichael, Rev. Robert, 565
Carrick, Rev. John, 340
Carrick, Rev. William, 216
Carruthers, Rev. Jaines W. D., 313, 551
Carstairs, Rev. George L. , 97
Carswell, Rev. William, 141
Chalmers, Rev. James, 201
Chalmers, Rev. John C. , 281
Chalmers, Rev. John, D. D. , 376
Chalmers, Rev. Robert, 233
Chalmers, Rev. William, 648
Chapman, Rev. Andrew, 499
Charters, Rev. Samuel, D. D., 462
Chisholm, Rev. Hector, 611, 616
Chisholm, Rev. Walter, 95
Christie, Rev. Anthony L., 283
Christie, Rev. A. M., 623
Christie, Rev. David, 522
Christie, Rev. Francis, 280
Christie, Rev. James, 246
CONGREGATIONS
Christie, Rev. Sloane S., 425
Christie, Rev. Thomas, 495
Clapperton, Rev. John, 535
Clark, John, Esq., 192
Clark, Rev. Andrew, 20
Clark, Rev. James, 602
Clark, Rev. James G. , 20
Clark, Rev. John A., 272
Clark, Rev. John (Abernethy), 143, 249,
586
Clark, Rev. John (Glasgow), 39
Clark, Rev, John (Kirkcaldy), 360
Clark, Rev. Robert, 603
Clark, Rev. Thomas (America), 640
Clark, Rev. Thomas (Eaglesham), 140
Clark, Rev. William, 144
Clarke, Rev. James, 257
Clarkson, Rev. John, 57, 327
Cleland, Rev. John, 687
Cock, Rev. John, 89
Cockburn, Lord, 543
Cockburn, Rev. Thomas, 457
Colier, Rev. Thomas, 376
Colquhoun, Rev. James, 156, 470
Colville, Mr John (Campbeltown), 244
Colville, Mr John, M.P., 34, 244
Colville, Rev. Robert, 447
Connor, Rev. David M., 108, 410
Cook, Rev. Daniel, 169
Cook, Rev. David, 527
Cooper, Rev. John, 538
Copland, Rev. George, 331
Copland, Rev. James M., 349
Corbett, Rev. Joseph, D.D., 206, 715
Cordiner, Mr Robert, 428
Cordiner, Rev. James, 428
Cordiner, Rev. Robert, 428
Corson, Rev. George, 460
Coutts, Rev. Robert, 575
Coventry, Prof. Andrew, 252
Coventry, Rev. George, 25, 252, 665
Cowan, Mr Henry, 330
Cowan, Rev. James, 377
Cowan, Rev. Robert, 377
Cowan, Rev. Robert J. R., 246
Cowan, Rev. William, 85, 394
Cowie, Rev. George W. S., 690
Cowper, Rev. J. S. , 472
Craig, Rev. James, 657, 658
Craig, Rev. John, 609
Craig, Rev. John, D.D., 298
Craig, Rev. John Kerr, 80
Craig, Rev. William, 404
Craigdallie, Mr James, 552
Craigie, Rev. David, 640
Cranston, Rev. Robert, 249
Crawford, Rev. David, D.D., 437
Crawford, Rev. David G., 363
Crawford, Rev. George, 120
Crawford, George, Esq., 421
INDEX
731
Crawford, Rev. John, 494
Crawford, Rev. Matthew, 31
Crawford, Rev. Robert, 325
Crawford, Rev. Thomas, 558
Crichton, Maitland M., Esq., 252, 388
Crichton, Rev. James, 114
Cross, Rev. Archibald, 409, 700
Cruden, Rev. William, 32
Cruickshank, Rev. James M., 84, 498
Cullen, Rev. John, D.Sc, 179, 369
Gumming, Mr Peter G. , 576
Cumming, Rev. Archibald, 380
Cumming, Rev. Charles, 576
Cunningham, Rev. Robert, 584, 705
Currie, Rev. John, 364
Currie, Rev. William, 639
Cursiter, Mr James, 615
Cuthbertson, Rev. William, 295
D
Dalgleish, Rev. James W., 297
Dalrymple, Rev. Alexander, 336
Dalrymple, Rev. Alexander M., 503
Dalrymple, Rev. James R., 148
Dalrymple, Rev. William, D.D., 330
Dalziel, Rev. John, 435
Darg, Rev. Thomas, 475
Darling, Rev. Hugh, 252
Davidson, Mr Alexander, 456
Davidson, Rev. George, 462
Davidson, Rev. Henry, 466
Davidson, Rev. James, 178, 181, 446
Davidson, Rev. Robert, 166
Davidson, Rev. W. B. Y., 157
Dawson, Rev. James A., 13
Dawson, Rev. John, 21
Dawson, Rev. William W., 417
Dempster, Rev. James T. , 256
Dempster, Rev. Simon, 366
Dewar, Rev. George F. , 227
Dewar, Rev. Hugh, 315
Dewar, Rev. James, 315
Dick, Mr A. Coventry, 25
Dick, Rev. Andrew L., 133, 708
Dick, Rev. Charles, 161
Dick, Rev. George H., 67
Dick, Rev. James, 146
Dick, Rev. John, D.D., 25
Dick, Rev. Robert, 249, 381
Dick, Rev. Thomas, LL.D., 671
Dickie, Rev. Andrew, 105, 381
Dickie, Rev. John D. , 445
Dickie, Rev. Matthew (Alva), 710
Dickie, Rev. Matthew (Cumnock), 334
Dickie, Rev. William, 117, 556
Dickie, Rev. William S., 302
Dickson, Rev. James, 141
Dickson, Rev. Thomas S., 601
Dobie, Rev. John, D.D., 77
Dobbie, Rev. Thomas, 8, 9, lOl
Donaldson, Rev. Alexander W., 228
Douglas, Rev. Daniel, 375
Douglas, Rev. G. H. 350
Douglas, Rev. James, 4
Douglas, Rev. John, 259
Douglas, Rev. Robert, D.D., 467
Dowie, Rev. Robert, 480
Downie, Rev. Thomas, 416
Drennan, Rev. James W. 392
Drummond, Mr James, 610
Drummond, Rev. David, 193
Drummond, Rev. James, 299
Drummond, Rev. John, 623
Drummond, Rev. Ralph, 397
Drummond, Rev. Robert J., D.D., 294
Drummond, Rev. Robert S., D.D., 63,
III
Drysdale, Rev. Henry, 110
Drysdale, Rev. James, 562
Drysdale, Rev. William, 4, 6
Duff, Rev. John, 238, 304
Dun, Rev. Andrew, 261
Dun, Rev. James, 42
Dun, Rev. William, 571
Duncan, Rev. Alexander (Glasgow), 30,
70, 341
Duncan, Rev. Alexander (Greenock),
181, 347, 662
Duncan, Rev. Andrew, 194
Duncan, Rev. David, 428
Duncan, Rev. James, 708
Duncan, Rev. John, 307
Duncan, Rev. Walter, 29, 70, 72
Duncan, Rev. William, 92
Duncanson, Rev. Andrew, 123
Duncanson, Rev. Peter C, 217
Dundas, Rev. John, 347
Dunlop, Rev. Hugh, 18
Dunlop, Rev. James, 18, 243, 410
Dunlop, Rev. James M., 140
Dunlop, Rev. Walter, 454
Dunlop, Rev. William (Buckhaven), 395
Dunlop, Rev. William (Port William),
17
Dunn, Rev. John, 172
Durie, Rev. William, 438
Duthie, Rev. George, 610
Dykes, Rev. Alexander B., 20
Eadie, Rev. John, D.D., 67, lOl
Eason, Rev. James, 89, 180
East, Rev. Timothy, 81
Easton, Rev. Alexander, 218
Eckford, Rev. John, 280
Edgar, Rev. Robert, 89, 500
732
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Edmond, Rev. John, D.D., 57
Edwards, Rev. John, D.D., 53
Elder, Rev. Andrew, 526, 610
Elder, Rev. John, 147
Elder, Rev. John L., 273
Elder, Rev. William, 464
Eldon, Lord, 554
Ellis, Rev. James, 309
Erskine, Rev. Ebenezer, 22, 248, 663
Erskine, Rev. Henry, 308
Erskine, Rev. James, 23, 664
Erskine, Rev. John, 365
Erskine, Rev. Ralph, 22, 131, 683
Ewing, Mr John, 305
Ewing, Rev. David, 305
Ewing) Rev. James C, 117
Fairgrieve, Rev. George, 311
Fairlie, Rev. John K., 316
Fairweather, Rev. William, 359
Falconer, Rev. James, 19
Fenwick, Mr John, 645
Fergus, Rev. David, 187, 596
Fergus, Rev. John, 236
Ferguson, Rev. Alexander, 281, 317
Ferguson, Rev. Fergus, D.D., 103
Ferguson, Rev. James, 221
Ferguson, Rev. John, 611
Ferrier, Rev. Andrew, D.D., 126, 238
Ferrier, Rev. William, D.D., 297, 515
Findlater, Rev. Alexander, 212
Findlay, Rev. Adam F., 11
Finlay, Rev. James, 388, 597
Finlay, Rev. Robert, 699
Finlayson, Rev. Robert, 436
Finlayson, Rev. Thomas, D.D., 178
Fisher, Rev. Daniel, 389
Fisher, Rev. James, 22, 131, 636
Fisher, Rev. Robert, 392
Fleming, Rev. Andrew G., 522, 710
Fleming, Rev. Henry M. , 503
Fleming, Rev. James, 1 1
Fleming, Rev. John R. , 224
Fleming, Rev. William, 360
Fletcher, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 678
Fletcher, Rev. James, 453
Fletcher, Rev. Robert, 219
Fletcher, Rev. William, 677
Forrest, Rev. Andrew F., 76, 670
Forrest, Rev. David (Glasgow), 84, 343
Forrest, Rev. David (Inverkeithing), 430
Forrest, Rev. David W., D.D., 46, 210,
214
Forrest, Rev. James, 290
Forrest, Rev. John, 287
Forrest, Rev. Robert, 309
Forrester, Rev. David M., 96, 619
Forrester, Rev. James, 599, 610
Forsyth, Rev. James, 563
Forsyth, Rev. John, 262, 284
Forsyth, Rev. Robert, 563
Forsyth, Rev. Thomas, 660
France, Rev. John, 688
France, Rev. William, 516
Frame, Mr James, 177
Frame, Rev. James (Glasgow), 41, 388,
561
Frame, Rev. James (Millport), 208
Eraser, Rev. Donald, D.D., 374
Eraser, Rev. Henry, 308
Eraser, Rev. Henry E., 98
Eraser, Rev. John, 88
Eraser, Rev. Norman, 215
Eraser, Rev. William (Alloa), 374, 396,
683
Eraser, Rev. William (Stonehouse), 234
French, Rev. John, 228
Frew, Rev. Forrest, 557
Frew, Rev. Robert, D.D., 701
Fyfe, Rev. Andrew, 410
Fyfe, Rev. James E., 541
Fyfe, Rev. William, 387
Galbraith, Rev. Walter, 278, 312
Galbraith, Rev. William, 185
Galletly, Rev. William, 706
Galloway, Rev. James, 591
Gardiner, Rev. James (Largo), 382
Gardiner, Rev. James (Uddingston), 134
Gardiner, Rev. John H., 10
Garie, Rev. James, 575
Garrett, Rev. James, 344
Gellatly, Rev. David, 378
Gemmell, Rev. John, M.D., 303
Gemmell, Rev. Robert D. B., 422
Gemmill, Rev. Hugh, 538
Gentles, Rev. Andrew M., 432
Gib, Rev. Adam, 22, 232, 586
Gibb, Rev. Colin M., 250
Gibson, Rev. Hugh, 410
Gibson, Rev. James, 1 1
Gibson, Rev. James Y. , 473
Gibson, Rev. Robert M., 118
Giffen, Rev. James, 306
Giffen, Rev. John S., 438
Giffen, Rev. Mungo, 249
Gifford, Lord, 310
Gifford, Rev. John, 310
Gilchrist, Rev. Alexander, 96
Gilfillan, Rev. George, 91, 580, 584
GilfiUan, Rev. James, D.D., 672
Gilfillan, Rev. Michael, 679, 691
Gilfillan, Rev. Samuel, 612, 624
Gillon, Rev. Adam D., 493
INDEX
733
Gilmour, Rev. John, 222
Girdwood, Rev. William, 561
Glass, Rev. John, 565
Glass, Rev. Laurence, 433
Glassford, Rev. Peter, 276
Glen, Rev. Henry, 530
Goodall, Rev. William S., 27, 313
Goodfellow, Rev. George, 239
Goodwin, Rev. David, 619
Goold, Rev. John, 81
Gowanlock, Rev. John T., 670, 673
Gowans, Rev. James, 283
Gowdie, Rev. John, 434
Gowdie, Rev. Prof., 434
Graham, Mr George, 297
Graham, Rev. George, 167
Graham, Rev. John, D.D., 30, 69, 98
Grahame, Rev. James, 182
Granger, Rev. Thomas, 569
Gray, Prof. David, 359
Gray, Rev. Adam, 206
Gray, Rev. Andrew, 280
Gray, Rev. David, 659
Gray, Rev. Henry B., 540
Gray, Rev. James, 149
Gray, Rev. John (Baillieston), 135
Gray, Rev. John (Glasgow), 105, 300
Gray, Rev. John (Rothesay), 185
Gray, Rev. Thomas, 359
Gray, Rev. William, 132
Green, Rev. George G., 89
Greig, Rev. James, 296
Greig, Rev. Robert, 252
Grimmond, Mr Alexander, 548
Grimmond, Mr William, 571
Grimmond, Rev. James, 570
Gunion, Rev. Andrew J., LL.D., 179,
229, 461
Guthrie, Rev. William, 386
H
Haldanes, The, 481, 495, 507
Haliburton, Rev. Simon, 453
Hall, Rev. David, 528
Hall, Rev. James, D.D., 139, 333, 419,
535
Hall, Rev, Robert (Glasgow), 107
Hall, Rev. Robert (Kelso), 264
Hall, Rev. William, 616
Halley, Rev. William M., 403
Hamilton, Mr James, 589
Hamilton, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 286
Hamilton, Rev. David, 436
Hamilton, Rev. Henry, 598
Hamilton, Rev. James, 382
Hamilton, Rev. James, D.D. , 462
Hamilton, Rev. John (Hamilton), 218
Hamilton, Rev. John (Lauder), 451
Hamilton, Rev. Robert, 716
Hannay, Rev. Peter, 2, 16, 162
Hardie, Rev. James, 390
Harper, Rev. Alexander, 412
Harper, Rev. Archibald, 393
Harper, Rev. James, D. D., 413
Harper, Rev. William, 391
narrower. Rev. David A., 196
Harvey, Rev. Alexander, 59, 292, 388
Harvey, Rev. John M., 684
Hastie, Rev. John, 274
Hay, Mr Andrew, 431
Hay, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 276
Hay, Rev. David (Glasgow), m
Hay, Rev. David (Largo), 384
Hay, Rev. James, 120, 200
Hay, Rev. James, D.D., 393
Hay, Rev. Joseph, 643
Hay, Rev. Robert, 431
Hay, Rev. William, M.D., 8$
Henderson, Mr Samuel, 295
Henderson, Rev. Alexander L., 38
Henderson, Rev. Alexander (Dunblane),
694
Henderson, Rev. Alexander (Perth),
436, 558
Henderson, Rev. Andrew, LL.D., 519
Henderson, Rev. Archibald, 371, 590
Henderson, Rev. David, 304
Henderson, Rev. George (Glasgow), 23
Henderson, Rev. George (Lauder), 448
Henderson, Rev. James, 458
Henderson, Rev. James, D.D., 431,
467
Henderson, Rev. James F,, 208
Henderson, Rev. Robert, 209
Henderson, Rev. Thomas W., 160
Henderson, Rev. William, 22
Henderson, Rev. William T., 208
Heriot, Rev. William, 227, 531
Heugh, Rev. Hugh, D.D., 56, 74, 327,
456, 598, 672
Heugh, Rev. John (Kingoldrum), 545,
637
Heugh, Rev. John (Stirling), 671
Heughan, Rev. George K., 140, 302
Hewitson, Rev. W. H., 561
Hibbs, Rev. Joseph, 294, 369
Hill, Rev. George (Musselburgh), 67,
632
Hill, Rev. George (Shotts), 231
Hill, Rev. James, 642
Hill, Rev. John, 130
Hill, Rev. Rowland, 366
Hill, Rev. Thomas, 14
Hislop, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 53
Hislop, Rev. Robert, 290
Hobart, Rev. R. R., 232
Hog, Rev. David, 183
Hog, Rev. James (Camock), 240
734
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Hog, Rev. James (Kelso), 233, 267
Hogarth, Rev. John P., 542, 586
Hogarth, Rev. Robert, 5
Hogarth, Rev. Thomas B., 159, 703
Holmes, Rev. James, 168
Holyoake, Mr George J., 468
Home, Rev. Alexander, 250
Horn, Rev. David, 404
Home, Rev. William, 418, 423
Houston, Rev. James R., 98, 121, 385,
427
Howie, Mr James, 330
Howieson, Rev. Matthew, 647
Howison, Rev. Alexander, 645
Hugh, Rev. Thomas A., 242
Huie, Rev. John Z. , 560
Huie, Rev. William, 679
Hume, Rev. David R. , 396
Hume, Rev. James, 432
Hume, Rev. Walter, 275
Hunter, Rev. Alexander, 386
Hunter, Rev. George (Stranraer), 6
Hunter, Rev. George (Tillicoultry), 706
Hunter, Rev. James H. S., 168, 229
Hunter, Rev. John (Belford), 499
Hunter, Rev. John (Morebattle), 247,
250
Hunter, Rev. John (Pitrodie), 580
Hunter, Rev. John (Savoch), 536
Hunter, Rev. R. G., 369, 505
Hutchison, Rev. James, 163
Hutchison, Rev. John, D.D., 541
Hutchison, Rev. Patrick, 519, 589, 699
Hutchison, Rev. Robert E., 503
Hutton, Rev. George C., D.D., 521
Hutton, Rev. William (Moffat), 335, 338
Hutton, Rev. William (Stow), 429
Hyslop, Rev. Ebenezer, 231, 678
Hyslop, Rev. Henry, 189
Hyslop, Rev. James, 114
Hyslop, Rev. John S., 287, 401
Hyslop, Rev. Thomas, 355, 678
Imrie, Rev. David, 76
Imrie, Rev. James, 75
Imrie, Rev. Robert, 608
Imrie, Rev. William, 76
Ingles, Rev. John C., 627
Ingles, Rev. Robert, 466
Inglis, Mr Charles, 434
Inglis, Rev. David, 194
Inglis, Rev. David M., 341
Inglis, Rev. John, 214
Inglis, Rev. James (Johnstone), 536
Inglis, Rev. James (Midholm), 434
Inglis, Rev. William, 249
Inglis, Rev. W. R., 225, 270, 295
Ingram, Rev. James, 505
Innes, Rev. Hugh, 58
Irving, Rev. William, 7
Isaac, Rev. Andrew, 326
Jack, Rev. James, 298
Jack, Rev. Robert, D.D. , 174
Jackson, Rev. John C, 81, 381, 398
Jackson, Rev. Robert, 68
Jacque, Rev. George, 597
Jaffray, Rev. Robert, 285
James, Rev, David, 317, 357
James, Rev. George F., 286
James, Rev. John, D.D., 392
James, Rev. Robert, 499
Jameson, Rev. John, 549, 620
Jameson, Rev. William (Calabar), 508,
621
Jameson, Rev. William (Kilwinning), 281
Jamieson, Rev. David T. , 146, 293
Jamieson, Rev. John, D.D., 641
Jamieson, Rev. John (Bellshill), 224,
380
Jamieson, Rev. John (Douglas), 422
Jamieson, Rev. John (Glasgow), 27
Jardine, Rev. James, 12
Jarvie, Rev. James, 269, 426
Jeffrey, Rev. George, D.D., 71
Jeffrey, Rev. James (Pollokshields), 63,
122
Jeffrey, Rev. James (Greenock), 177
Jeffrey, Rev. Robert T., D.D., 71, 91
Jenkins, Rev. James, 390
Jerdan, Rev. Charles, 178
Jerment, Rev. George, D.D., 585, 68r
Jerment, Rev. Richard, 362
Jervie, Rev. John, 551
Johnston, Rev. Alfred W., 138
Johnston, Rev. George, D. D., 27
Johnston, Rev. George (Glasgow), 149,
361, 507
Johnston, Rev. George (Lanark), 417
Johnston, Rev. James A. , 96
Johnston, Rev. John Brown, D.D., 31,
120, 355
Johnston, Rev. John (Glasgow), 66
Johnston, Rev. John C., 199
Johnston, Rev. John (Leslie), 371
Johnston, Rev. Joseph, 389
Johnston, Rev. Matthew, 322
Johnston, Rev. Thomas B., 381
Johnston, Rev. William, 372
Johnstone, James, Esq., 708
Johnstone, Rev. James, 565
Johnstone, Rev. Robert, D.D., 72
INDEX
735
K
Kay, Rev. James, 358
Kechie, Rev. John, 438
Keir, Rev. Thomas, 450
Kellock, Rev. W. H., 100, 281
Kennedy, Rev. Angus R., M.D., 196
Ker, Rev. John, D. D., 40
Kerr, Mr Bryce, 529
Kerr, Rev. Andrew, 478
Kerr, Rev. Bryce, 383
Kerr, Rev. Daniel, 275
Kerr, Rev. James, 12
Kerr, Rev. James R., 388
Kerr, Rev. John, 223
Kerr, Rev. Robert, 245
Kesson, Rev. John, 533
Ketchen, Rev. Thomas, 487
Key, Rev. Andrew, 478
Kidd, Rev. James, D.D., 63
Kiddy, Rev. WiUiam, 249, 471
Kidston, Rev. William, D.D., 39, 373
Kidston, Rev. William, 430
King, Rev. David, LL.D., 25, 206
King, Rev. John (Alva), 710
King, Rev. John (Auchterarder), 596
Kininmont, Rev. Alex. D., 425
Kinloch, Rev. Samuel, 517
Kirk, Rev, John, 651
Kirk, Rev. John, D.D. 694
Kirkaldy, Rev. James, 353
Kirkland, Rev. Alexander, 100
Kirkwood, Rev. James, 291
Kirkwood, Rev. John (Strathaven), 227
Kirkwood, Rev. John (Troon), 343
Kirkwood, Rev. Thomas C, 265, 492
Knox, Rev. Alexander F., 672
Knox, Rev. James, D.D., 94, 329
Kyle, Rev. James, 150
Kyle, Rev. John, 578
Laidlaw, Rev. John, 592
Laidly, Rev. John, 529
Laing, Rev. Alexander, 197
Laing, Rev. Benjamin, D.D., 324
Laing, Rev. William, 612
Lamb, Rev. John, 575
Lambert, Rev. John C, 149, 313
Lambie, Rev. Andrew, 635
Lambie, Rev. James, 197
Langlands, Rev. John, 18
Lapslie, Rev. James, 156
Latimer, Rev. W. T., 551
Lauder, Rev. William (Earlston), 435
Lauder, Rev. William (Port-Glasgow),
Laughland, Rev. David, 239
Laurie, Rev. James, 455
Law, Rev. James, 355
Law, Rev. John, 455, 474
Law, Rev. Robert, 138, 294, 403, 711
Law, Rev. William, 540
Lawrie, Rev. David, 585
Lawrie, Rev. Thomas M., 116
Lawson, Rev. Andrew, 442
Lawson, Rev. George, 285, 442, 467
Lawson, Rev. George, D.D., 441, 552
Lawson, Rev. John, 443, 445
Leek, Rev. Alexander, 540
Leckie, Mr Charles, 392
Leckie, Rev. Joseph, D.D., 102, 208
Leech, Rev. John, 191
Lennox, Rev. John, 532
Lewars, Rev. John, 362, 428
Leys, Mr George M., 227
LeyS) Rev. Peter, 226
Limont, Rev. William, 291
Lindsay, Rev. Alexander, 427
Lindsay, Rev. David, 702
Lindsay, Rev. James, 95, 286
Lindsay, Rev. John (Helensburgh), 702
Lindsay, Rev. John (Johnstone), 512,
535
Lindsay, Rev. Robert, 17
Lindsay, Rev. Thomas M., D.D., 428
Lindsay, Rev. William, 224, 557
Lindsay, Rev. William, D.D., 34, 537
Lining, Rev. Thomas, 427
Logan, Rev. James, 701
Logan, Rev. William, 417
Logic, Mr Deas, 236
Logie, Rev. John, 202
Lothian, Rev. Andrew, 194
Low, Rev. George, 143
Low, Rev. John, 349, 407
Lowdon, Rev. C. Ross, 408
Lowrie, Rev. William, 449
Luke, Rev. George, 495
Lumgair, Rev. David, 465
Lumsden, Rev. James, 397
Lyon, Rev. Robert, 551
M
MacEwen, Rev. Alexander R., D.D.,
38, 94, 365
MacEwen, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 93
MacEwen, Rev. James, 42, 459
MacEwen, Rev. William, 516
MacFarlane, Rev. Hugh, 162
MacFarlane, Rev. Peter, 184, 416
Macfee, Rev. William G., 119
MacGill, Rev. Hamilton M., 30, 57, 73
Mackay, Rev. James, 505
Mackay, Rev. Thomas R., 505
Mackie, Rev. James, 133
736
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Mackie, Rev. John, 589
Mackenzie, Rev. John M., 479
Mackenzie, Rev. Patrick, 268
Mackenzie, Rev. Robert, 242, 684
Macknight, Rev. Thomas, D.D., 260
Mackray, Rev. William, 669
Macleroy, Rev. Campbell, 236
Macmillan, Rev. James, 102, 115
Macpherson, Rev. A. Scott, 121
MacRae, Rev. David, 203
M'Ara, Rev. John, 169, 510, 667
M 'Galium, Rev. George, 446
M'Cheyne, Rev. Robert M., 269
M'Cheyne, Rev. Wilham, 269
M'CoU, Rev. Alexander, 306
M'Coll, Rev. John (Paisley), 528
M'Coll, Rev. John (Partick), 118
M'Conchie, Rev. William G., 137
M'Creath, Rev. Thomas, 35
M'Crie, Rev. James, D.D., 5
ISrCrie, Rev. Thomas, D.D., 624
M'Cubbin, Rev. John D., 507
M'Culloch, Rev. Thomas, D.D., 139,
312
M'Culloch, Rev. William, 130
M'Derment, Rev. Peter, 282, 326
M'Dermid, Rev. John, 520
M 'Donald, Rev. Alexander, 335
M'Donald, Rev. Donald, 202
M'Donald, Rev. John, 391, 481
M'Dougall, Rev. Peter M., 492
M'Dougall, Rev. William, 187, 292, 522
M'Dowall, Rev. Andrew, 241
M'Dowall, Rev. Peter, 681, 708
M'Ewan, Rev. David, D.D., 49, 331
M'Ewan, Rev. James, 226
M'Ewing, Rev. Charles, 54, 168
M'Fadyen, Rev. James, 350
M'Farlane, Rev. Andrew, 654
M'Farlane, Rev. Andrew, D.D., 176
M'Farlane, Rev. Hugh, 410
M'Farlane, Rev. James, D.D., 53
M'Farlane, Rev. John (Glasgow), 53
M'Farlane, Rev. John (Hamilton), 214,
216
M'Farlane, Rev. John (Lanark), 415
M'Farlane, Rev. John (London), 684
M'Farlane, Rev. John, LL.D., 41, 62
M'Farlane, Rev. John T., 221
M'Farlane, Rev. Patrick, M.D., 605
M 'Gavin, Mr William, 325
M 'Gavin, Rev. James, D.D., 125
M'Gavin, Rev. Matthew, 125, 234
M 'Gilchrist, Rev. William, 320
M'Gowan, Rev, William S., 502
M'Gregor, Rev. Alexander, 283
M'Gregor, Rev. Andrew, 688
M'Gregor, Rev. John, 8
M'Gregor, Rev. John L. , 240
M'Guffie, Rev. Peter, 499, 653
M'llquham, Rev. William, 54, 158
M'Innes, Mr John, 133
M'Innes, Rev. John, 329
M'Innes, Rev. Robert M., 329
M'Innes, Rev. Thomas G., 576
M'Intyre, Rev. Isaac K. , 166
M'Intyre, Rev. J. B. K., 166, 192
M'Intyre, Rev. John (Baillieston), 135
M'Intyre, Rev. John (Greenloaning), 6g7
M'Intyre, Rev. John (Wishaw), 239
M'Kenzie, Rev. Daniel, 390
M'Kenzie, Rev. William, 80
M'Kerrow, Rev. John, D.D., 583, 678
M'Knight, Rev. John, 233
M'Lachlan, Rev. Andrew, 400
M'Laren, Rev. Archibald, 299
M'Laren, Duncan, Esq., 265
M'Laren, Rev. John (Glasgow), 82
M'Laren, Rev. John (Kilbarchan), 533
M'Laren, Rev. William, 697
M'Laurin, Rev. James C, 104, 139
M'Lay, Rev. Walter, 228, 427
M'Lay, Rev. William, 252
M'Lean, Rev. Alexander T., 135
M'Lean, Rev. Archibald, 569
M'Lean, Rev. Daniel (Alloa), 682
M'Lean, Rev. Daniel (Lanark), 416
• M'Lean, Rev. Daniel (Largs), 192, 573
M'Lean, Rev. Robert, 207, 208
M'Lellan, Rev. John (Braehead), 418
M'Lellan, Rev. John (Rousay), 508
M'Leod, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 49,
229
M'Leod, Rev. Angus, 165
M'Luckie, Rev. John, 134, 416
M'Master, Rev. Peter, 686
M' Master, Rev. Robert, 652
M'Millan, Rev. John, 58
M'Nab, Rev. Samuel, 184
M'Naught, Rev. Daniel, 291, 410
M'Naughton, Rev. Alexander, 158
M'Naughton, Rev. Matthew, 159
M'Nee, Rev. Thomas D., 506
M'Neill, Rev. John, 145
M'Neil, Rev. John, 147, 642
M'Owan, Rev. James, 550, 707
M'Ouat, Rev. James E., 620
M'Queen, Rev. David, 65
M'Queen, Rev. George, 158
M'Rae, Rev. David, 80, 162
M'Rorie, Rev. James, 229
Mair, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 431
Mair, Rev. David, junior, 506
Mair, Rev. David, senior, 506
Mair, Rev. James, 310
Malloch, Rev. David, 384
Marshall, Rev. Andrew, D.D., 151
Marshall, Rev. Archibald M., 239, 714
Marshall, Rev. William, D.D., 550, 569,
61S
INDEX
737
Marshall, Rev. William (Colinsburgh),
380
Marshall, Rev. William (Leilh), 153,
368
Martin, Rev. Benjamin, 372
Martin, Rev. James, 532
Martin, Rev. John, 629
Marwick, Rev. Isaac E., 356
Mason, Rev. John M., D. D. , 309
Mather, Rev. James (Maybole), 339
Mather, Rev. James (Dairy), 543
Mather, Rev. Peter, 318
Matheson, Rev. Adam S., 93, 682
Mathison, Rev. John, 384
Matthew, Rev. Patrick, 365, 432
Matthew, Rev. Thomas, 434
Matthews, Rev. George D., 8
Matthewson, Rev. Thomas, 317
Mearns, Rev. Peter, 67, 271, 334, 345
Meikle, Rev. James, D.D., 530
Meikle, Rev. Gilbert, 201
Meikle, Rev. William, 399
Meikleham, Rev. M. Bruce, 90
Meiklejohn, Rev. John, 245
Meiklejohn, Rev. Robert, 686
Mein, Mrs Renton, 265
Mein, Rev. B. R., 265
Mellis, Rev. David, M.D., 367
Melville, Rev. William B., 147, 506
Menzies, Rev. William, 415
Methven, Rev. James, 312
Middleton, Rev. George M., 64
Middleton, Robert T., Esq., M.P., 160
Miles, Rev. Alexander, 408
Mill, Rev. James S., 386
Millar, John, Esq., 711
Millar, Rev. A. Johnston, 96
Millar, Rev. John, 623
Miller, Mr James B., 609
Miller, Rev. Alexander, 500
Miller, Rev. David K., 81, 276
Miller, Rev. Duncan, 656
Miller, Rev. James, 476
Miller, Rev. James A., 702
Miller, Rev. John, 713
Miller, Rev. John F., 663
Miller, Rev. John K., 348
Miller, Rev. Thomas, 556
Miller, Rev. William G., 129, 321
Miller, Rev. William (Lenzie), 159
Miller, Rev. William (Sandyford), 83
Milligan, Rev. Archibald H., 594
Milligan, Rev. James, D. D. , 121
Milligan, Rev. John, 447, 564
Milne, Rev. John (Glasgow), 90
Milne, Rev. John (Perth), 5C0
Minto, Rev. George, 472
Mitchell, Mr James, 588
Mitchell, Rev. Andrew, 30, 516, 529
Mitchell, Rev. David F., 21
II. 3 A
Mitchell, Rev. James, 614
Mitchell, Rev. John, 155, 401
Mitchell, Rev. John, D.D., 30, 44
Moffat, Rev. William D. , 710
Moir, Rev. Andrew, 440
Moir, Rev. James, 335
Moncrieff, Rev. Alexander, 549, 583
Moncrieff, Rev. John, 213
Moncrieff, Rev. Matthew, 584 •
Moncrieff, Rev. Sir Henry, 596
Moncrieff, Rev. William, 680, 327
Moncur, Ex- Provost, 488
Monteith, Mr James, 36
Monteith, Rev. James, 539
Moodie, Rev. Andrew M., 716
Moodie, Rev. John, 291
Moodie, Rev. Robert, 702
More, Rev. John (Alloa), 684
More, Rev. John (Cairneyhill), 279
Morgan, Rev. David M., 118
Morgan, Rev. William, 337
Morison, Rev. Andrew, 708
Morison, Rev. Alexander, 373
Morison, Rev. George, 202
Morison, Rev. James, D.D., 288, 293,
332, 523
Morison, Rev. Walter, D.D., 66, 331
Morison, Rev. William, 420
Morris, Rev. George, 305
Morrison, Rev. David, 248
Morrison, Rev. James, 248
Morton, Rev. Andrew, 475
Morton, Rev. Andrew, LL.D., 177
Morton, Rev. John, 370,
Morton, Rev. Peter, 229
Morton, Rev. William, 202
Moscrip, Rev. George, 171
Mowat, Rev. William, 469
Moyes, Rev. Charles, 254
Muckersie, Rev. James, 238, 681
Muckersie, Rev. John, 238, 607
Muckersie, Rev. Walter, 79
Mudie, Rev. James, 488
Muil, Rev. William S., 601
Muir, Rev. Archibald, 383
Muir, Rev. Francis, 701
Muir, Rev. James, 711
Muir, Rev. John, 356
Muir, Rev. Robert, 461
Muirhead, Rev. Charles, 568
Muirhead, Rev. John, 266
Muirhead Rev. William, 9
Munro, Rev. James L. , 443
Munro, Rev. John, 16
Munro, Rev. John B., 131
Munsie, Rev. William, 99
Murray, Prof. Alexander, 12
Murray, Rev. George 584
Murray, Rev. James L. , 104, 293
Murray, Rev. John, 486
738
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Murray, Rev. John A., 363
Murray, Rev. William R. , 320
Muter, Rev. Robert, D.D., 82
Myles, Rev. Thomas, 637
N
Nairn* Rev. James, D.D., 386
Nairn, Rev. Thomas, 352
Nairn, Rev. William, 52
Naismith, Rev. Charles, 580
Napier, Rev. G. M., 253
Neil, Rev. Joseph, 37
Neilson, Rev. Alexander, 426
Nelson, Mr James Sidey, 633
Nelson, Rev. Robert, 633
Nelson, Rev. Thomas, 647
Newlands, Rev. John, D.D., 555
Newlands, Rev. Thomas S., 565
Ney, Rev. William, 54
Nichol, Rev. John, 330
Nicholson, Rev. James B., 52
Nicholson, Rev. Thomas B. , 221
Nicol, Rev. Andrew, 392
Nicol, Rev. Robert, 263
Nicol, Rev. Thomas, 580
Nicol, Rev. William (Airdrie), 124
Nicol, Rev. William (Barrhead), 142
Nicol, Rev. William, D.D., 255, 536
Nicoll, Robert, 645
Nicolson, Rev. George H., 386
Nisbet, Rev. James S. , 403, 492
Nisbet, Rev. WiUiam, 518
Niven, Rev. Robert, 92
Niven, Rev. William L. A., 474
O
Ochterston, Rev. Arthur, 305, 317
Ogilvie, Mr Alexander, 2
Ogilvie, Mr Andrew, 2
Ogilvie, Rev. Andrew, i, 4
Ogilvie, Rev. John, 397
Oliver, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 58, 467,
Oliver, Rev. William, 212
Orr, Rev. James, D.D., 459
Orr, Rev. Matthew, 604
Orr, Rev. William, 315
Oswald, Rev. James, 620
Oswald, Rev. Thomas, 702
Parlane, Rev. James, 364, 457
Paterson, Rev. Alexander, 472
Paterson, Rev. Alexander j. B., 541
Paterson, Rev. Henry A,, 235
Paterson, Rev. James, 45, 646
Paterson, Rev. John (Airdrie), 125
Paterson, Rev. John (Rattray), 711
Paterson, Rev. Robert (Biggar), 260,
382, 409
Paterson, Rev. Robert (Greenloaning),
686
Paterson, Rev. Robert, D.D. , 484
Paterson, Rev. Robert S., 506
Paterson, Rev. Thomas W., 420
Paton, David, Esq., 713
Paton, James, Esq., 706, 713
Paton, Rev. John, M.D., 379
Paton, Rev. William M., 84, 586
Patrick, Rev. James, 350
Patrick, Rev. Millar, 333, 408
Patrick, Rev. William, 456
Patterson, Rev. W. J., 402
Paul, Rev. John, 494
Paxton, Rev. George, D.D., 279, 312
Pearson, Lord, 435
Pearson, Rev. Robert, 409
Peden, Rev. John, 70
Pettigrew, Rev. Alexander, 652
Pettigrew, Rev. John, 496
Pettigrew, Rev. William A. , 385
Philip, Rev. A., 582
Philp, Rev. George, 306
Pinkerton, Rev. James, 186
Pirie, Rev. Alexander (Blairlogie), 586,
695
Pirie, Rev. Alexander (Glasgow), 24
Pirie, Rev. Alexander I., 508
Pirret, Rev. David, 82
Pirret, Rev. Joseph Brown, 100
Pitcairn, Rev. John, 46, 269
Pittendrigh, Rev. James, 388
Pollock, Rev. John, 78
Pollock, Rev. John B., 468
Pollock, Rev. Robert, 300
Pollok, Rev. Allan, D.D., 394
Pollok, Rev. Robert, 394
Poison, Rev. John, 256
Porteous, Rev. James, 261, 272
Porteous, Rev. John, 516
Potts, Rev. John, 251, 262
Preston, Rev. Alexander, 617
Primrose, Rev. James, 32
Primrose, Rev. Robert, 83, 119, 180
Pringle, Mr Thomas, 549
Pringle, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 546
Pringle, Rev. James (Kinclaven), 638
Pringle, Rev. James (Newcastle), 549
Pringle, Rev. James (Pollokshaws), 139
Pringle, Rev. John, 426
Pringle, Rev. John W., 262, 715
Pringle, Rev. William, 549
Pringle, Rev. William, D.D., 599
Pringle, Sir Robert, 250
INDEX
739
Proctor, Rev. William, 162
Proudfoot, Rev. William, 579
Pullar, Rev. James, 15
PuUar, Rev. Thomas, 250
Punton, Rev. James, 212
Purdie, Rev. Joseph, 388, 421
Purves, Rev. James W., 312
Rae, Rev. George, 205
Rae, Rev. James M., 92
Raeburn, Rev. William, 707
Ramage, Rev. William, 493
Ramage, Rev. William, D.D., 43, 97,
292
Ramsay, Rev. Alexander, 129
Ramsay, Rev. Andrew M. , 461
Ramsay, Rev. James (Glasgow), 27, 212,
700
Ramsay, Rev. James (Kelso), 262
Ramsay, Rev. John, 215
Ramsay, Rev. William, 625
Rankine, Rev. Thomas P. , 95
Rattray, Rev. William, 443
Reid, Rev. George, 498
Reid, Rev. Henry, 300
Reid, Rev. John, 402
Reid, Rev. Laurence, 446
Reid, Rev. Robert, 509
Reid, Rev. William (Colinsburgh), 380
Reid, Rev. William (Newton-Stewart),
13
Reikie, Rev. Patrick, 376
Rennie, Rev. James, 65
Renton, Rev. Alexander, 265
Renton, Rev. Henry, 264
Renwick, Rev. Robert, 330
Reston, Rev. David, 571
Reston, Rev. James, 12
Reston, Rev. John, 53, 409
Richardson, Rev. John, 147
Richardson, Rev. William, 169
Riddoch, Rev. John, 270
Rintoul, Rev. J. L., 550
Ritchie, Rev. Andrew, 275, 670
Ritchie, Rev. Archibald, 190
Ritchie, Rev. Ebenezer (Kirkwall), 485,
.^59
Ritchie, Rev. Ebenezer (Paisley), 232
Ritchie, Rev. John, 232
Ritchie, Rev. John, D.D., 71, 288, 487
Ritchie, Rev. William, 648, 717
Roberts, Rev. Walter, 104, 125
Robertson, Mr Andrew (Bannock burn),
708
Robertson, Mr Andrew (Dalreoch), 604
Robertson, Mr Charles, 716
Robertson, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 501
II. 3A2
Robertson, Rev. Andrew, 431, 523
Robertson, Rev. Archibald, 224
Robertson, Rev. David, 280
Robertson, Rev. Eric S., 77
Robertson, Rev. George, 146
Robertson, Rev. George, D.D. , 186
Robertson, Rev. James, D. D., 77
Robertson, Rev. James (Kilmarnock),
287
Robertson Rev. James (Newcastle), 640
Robertson, Rev. John (Ayr), 328
Robertson, Rev. John (Jedburgh), 256
Robertson, Rev. John (Stranraer), 4,
183
Robertson, Rev. JohnD., 322
Robertson, Rev. Peter, 299
Robertson, Rev. Thomas (Kilwinning),
282
Robertson, Rev. Thomas (Mossbank),
657
Robertson, Rev. William, 278
Robertson, Rev. William B., D.D. , 301
Robinson, Rev. Alexander, 630
Robson, Rev. Charles, 95, 196
Robson, Rev. George, 449, 450
Robson, Rev. George, D. D., 562
Robson, Rev. James, 538
Robson, Rev. John, D.D., 45, 178, 265
Rodgie, Rev. Andrew, 457
Roger, Rev. George, 327
Rogers, Rev. James, 265
Rogerson, Rev. Adam B., 506
Ronald, Rev. David, 310, 311
Ronald, Rev. James, 422
Ronald, Rev. John, 313
Rorke, Rev. Joseph, 479
Ross, Rev. Alexander, 164
Ross, Rev. Andrew, 633
Ross, Rev. David, 363
Ross, Rev. Donald (Lismore), 163
Ross, Rev. Donald (Westray), 499
Ross, Rev. George, 689
Ross, Rev. George A. J., 711
Ross, Rev. George F. , 273
Runciman, Rev. Charles, 497
Russell, Mr Ebenezer, 546
Russell, Mr John, 482
Russell, Mr Scott, 578
Russell, Rev. David, 380, 460, 577
Russell, Rev. George, 304
Russell, Rev. John, 689
Russell, Rev. Peter H., 658
Russell, Rev. Robert, 534
Russell, Rev. Thomas (Greenloaning),
323. 685
Russell, Rev. Thomas (Hawick), 137,
461
Russell, Rev. William, 445
Rutherford, Rev. Alexander C. , 394
Rutherford, Rev. John, 211
740
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Rutherford, Rev. Peter, 35
Rutherford, Rev. William, 465
Rutherford, Rev. William, D.D., 344
Rutherford, Rev. W. G., LL.D., 744
Salmond, Rev. William, D.D., 709
Sandie, Rev. George, 202
Sangster, Rev. David, 556
Sawers, Rev. Peter R., 414
Schaw, Rev. Thomas, 639
Schaw, Rev. William, D.D., 329, 538
Scobie, Rev. Andrew, 107
Scot, Rev. James, 247
Scotland, Rev: James S. , 576
Scott, Mr Andrew H., 406
Scott, Rev. Alexander (Colinsburgh), 379
Scott, Rev. Alexander (Kirkcowan), 21
Scott, Rev. Andrew (Bonkle), 406
Scott, Rev. Andrew (Crieff), 624
Scott, Rev. David R. W., 322
Scott, Rev. Ernest F. (Prestwick), 351
Scott, Rev. Ernest F. (Towlaw), 716
Scott, Rev. Hew, D.D., 664
Scott, Rev. James, D. D., 426
Scott, Rev. James (Glasgow), 73, 360
Scott, Rev. James (Jedburgh), 261
Scott, Rev. James B., 311, 460
Scott, Rev. James G., 76
Scott, Rev. James H. , 406
Scott, Rev. James R. , 16
Scott, Rev. John (Biggar), 411
Scott, Rev. John (Greenloaning), 687
Scott, Rev. John (Shotts), 231
Scott, Rev. Robert, 272
Scott, Rev. Robert, M.D., 105, 619
Scott, Rev. Robert D. , 420
Scott, Rev. Walter, 673
Scott, Rev. William (Bonkle), 405
Scott, Rev. William (Leslie), 367, 375
Scott- Hay, Rev. William, 514
Shanks, Rev. Alexander, 254
Shannon, Rev. James W., 463
Shannon, Rev. John A., 403
Shaw, Rev. Adam, 76, 402
Shaw, Rev. Alexander, 399
Shaw, Rev. Robert D., 221
Shaw, Rev. Robert, D.D., 233
Shearer, Rev. David, 480, 504
Shearer, Rev. John, 241
Shields, Rev. Allan, 275
Shirra, Rev. Robert (Kirkcaldy), 353
Shirra, Rev. Robert (Yetholm), 273
Shoolbraid, Rev. John, 539
Sievewright, Rev. James, D.D., 402
Sim, Rev. David, 341
Simpson, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 222,
260, 387
Simpson, Rev. James, 480
Simpson, Rev. Thomas, 492
Sinclair, Rev. James, 486
Sinclair, Rev. Robert, 128
Sinclair, Rev. Sutherland, 173
Sinclair, Rev. William, 88
Sinclair, Sir George, 480
Skerret, Rev. Joseph L. , 31
Skinner, Mr James, 195, 342, 717
Skinner, Rev. John, D.D., 115
Slater, Rev. John W., 642
Slowan, Mr W. J., 684
Small, Rev. Thomas, 21
Small, Mr Andrew, 9
Small, Rev. Robert, D.D., 198
Small, Rev. Thomas, 566
Smart, Mr James, 391
Smart, Rev. James, 382, 571
Smart, Rev. John, D.D., 668
Smart, Rev. William (Linlithgow), 670
Smart, Rev. William (Paisley), 518
Smellie, Rev. William, 7
Smith, Mr Alexander, 325
Smith, Mr Thomas, 548
Smith, Mr William, 707
Smith, Rev. Andrew M., 215, 330
Smith, Rev. Andrew W., 131, 317
Smith, Rev. David, D.D., 253, 408, 573
Smith, Rev. David (St Andrews), 511
Smith, Rev. David (St Ninians), 701
Smith, Rev. Ephraim, 13
Smith, Rev. Gabriel, 400
Smith, Rev. James (Campbeltown), 187
Smith, Rev. James (Coalsnaughton), 712
Smith, Rev. James (Dunning), 590
Smith, Rev. James (East Kilbride), 235
Smith, Rev. James, D. D., 62
Smith, Rev. James S. , 6
Smith, Rev. John (Jedburgh), 253
Smith, Rev. John (Whithorn), ro
Smith, Rev. John B., 179
Smith, Rev. Malcolm, 463
Smith, Rev. Peter, 68, 71, 196, 501
Smith, Rev. Robert (Auchinleck), 325
Smith, Rev. Robert (Dundee), 361
Smith, Rev. Robert (Kilwinning), 282
Smith, Rev. William, 705, 707
Smyton, Rev. David, 277, 312
Snadden, Rev. James, 455
Snodgrass, Rev. W., D.D., 394
Somerville, Rev. Thomas, 384, 649
Somerville, Rev. Thomas, D.D., 258,
260
Somerville, William, Esq., 418
Sommerville, Rev. David, 225
Sommerville, Rev. George, 124
Sommerville, Rev. Simon, 492
Soutar, Rev. George S., 403, 502
Spence, Rev. James, 385
Spence, Rev. Prof., 327
INDEX
741
Spiers, Rev. William, 688
Spittal, Rev. James, 165
Sprott, Rev. Andrew, 318
Sprott, Rev. William, 103, 140
Squair, Rev. John, 3, 15
Stalker, Rev. James, 470
Stark, Rev. James, 171
Stark, Rev. James, D.D., 681
Steedman, Rev. James, 479
Steedman, Rev. John, 669, 673
Steedman, Rev. William, 141
Steel, Rev John, U.D., 53
Steel, Rev. William, 35
Steven, Rev. William, 192
Stevenson, Rev. Alexander, 437
Stevenson, Rev. George, 282
Stevenson, Rev. George, D.D., 328
Stevenson, Rev. Hugh, 473
Stevenson, Rev. John, 2
Stewart, Mr Peter, 530
Stewart, Mr William, 656
Stewart, Rev. Alexander (Ayr), 332
Stewart, Rev. Alexander (Kennoway),
367, 375
Stewart, Rev. Andrew, M.D., 542
Stewart, Rev. David, 669
Stewart, Rev. James (Glasgow), 37
Stewart, Rev. James (Greenend), 606
Stewart, Rev. James G. , 60
Stewart, Rev. John, D.D., 631
Stewart, Rev. Robert W., D.D., 542
Stewart, Rev. Thomas (Crieff), 624
Stewart, Rev. Thomas (Strathaven), 225
Stewart, Rev. W. Shaw, D.D., 44, 395
Stewart, Rev. William, 478
Stillie, Rev. John, D.D., 342
Stirling, Rev. George, 284
Stirling, Rev. Henry, 591
Stirling, Rev. Hugh, 136
Stirling, Rev. James, 137
Stirling, Rev. Timothy W., 112
Stirling, Rev. William (Coatbridge),
129
Stirling, Rev. William (Rutherglen),
145, 201
Stobbs, Mr Alexander, 491
Stobbs, Rev. John, 491
Stobbs, Rev. Simon S., 319
Stobbs, Rev. William, 491
Strang, Rev. William, 12
Struthers, Mr John, 663
Struthers, Rev. Gavin, D.D., 37, 576
Struthers, Rev. Thomas, 219, 339
Stuart, Rev. John, 681
Sturrock, Rev. David A., 434
Sutherland, Rev. Archibald, 561 "
Swan, Rev. William F., 616
Swanston, Mr Andrew, 551
Swanston, Rev. John, 251
Symington, Rev. John, 292
Tait, Rev. Hugh, 121
Tait, Rev. James, 143
Tait, Mr James, 248, 438, 454
Taylor, Rev. Alexander, 155
Taylor, Rev. James, D.D. (Flisk), 554
Taylor, Rev. James, D.D. (Glasgow),
56, 76, 550
Taylor, Rev. James (Ayr), 327
Taylor, Rev. James (Earlston), 437
Taylor, Rev. James D., 284, 306
Taylor, Rev. James S., 51, 159, 272
Taylor, Rev. John, M.D., D.D., 146
Taylor, Rev. John G. , 509
Taylor, Rev. William (Polmadie), 114
Taylor, Rev. William (Stdnehouse). 233
Taylor, Rev. William M., D.D., 280
Taylor, Rev. William (Perth), 554
Taylor, Rev. William (Stronsay), 487
Taylor, Sir Thomas W., 147
Telfar, Rev. David, 675
Telfer, Rev. David, 393
Tennant, Mr Daniel, 208
Tennant, Rev. John, i
Thirde, Rev. James Y., 658
Thom, Rev. John, 399
Thomas, Rev. David, 338
Thomson, Rev. Adam, 458
Thomson, Rev. Adam, D.D., 270, 272
Thomson, Rev. Andrew, junior, 136
Thomson, Rev. Andrew, senior, 136
Thomson, Rev. David, 698
Thomson, Rev. George (Campbeltown),
189
Thomson, Rev. George (Rathillet), 24,
58
Thomson, Rev. George A. , 342
Thomson, Rev. Hugh, 277
Thomson, Rev. James (Auchtergaven),
646
Thomson, Rev. James (Burntisland), 362
Thomson, Rev. James (Kirkcaldy), 358
Thomson, Rev. James (Maybole), 339
Thomson, Rev. James, D.D., 157, 521
Thomson, Rev. James B., 174
Thomson, Rev. John (Campbeltown),
189, 488
Thomson, Rev. John (Dairy), 305
Thomson, Rev. John (Kirkintilloch), 24,
150
Thomson, Rev. John M., 340
Thomson, Rev. John W., 390
Thomson, Mr Joseph, 174
Thomson, Rev. Peter, 518
Thomson, Rev. Robert W., 205
Thomson, Rev. Thomas (Earlston), 437
Thomson, Rev. Thomas (Girvan), 341
Thomson, Rev. Thomas (Kirkcaldy),
358
742
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Thomson, Rev. William (Alloa), 684
Thomson, Rev. William (Hutcheson-
town), 51, 531
Thomson, Rev. William (Maybole), 340
Thomson, Rev. William (Plantation),
107, 245
Thomson, Rev. William B., 470
Thomson, Rev. William R. (Belhaven),
58, III, 178, 356
Thomson, Rev. William R. (Caledonia
Road), 91, 439
Thomson, Rev. W. S., 702
Thorburn, Rev. John, 20, 595
Thorburn, Rev. William R. , 449
Torrance, Rev. Archibald, 275
Torrie, Mr Robert, 452
Torry, Rev. James, 502
Towers, Rev. James, 2
Train, Rev. John G., 395
Trench, Rev. Thomas S. , 220
Trotter, Rev. William, 440
Troup, Rev. Alexander, 546
Turnbull, Rev. James, 58, 380
Turner, Rev. George, D.D., 572
Turner, Rev. William, 199
V
Val lance. Rev. James, 400
W
Walker, Rev. Alexander, 397
Walker, Rev. David, 138, 700
Walker, Rev. George, 17
Walker, Rev. John, 297, 337
Walker, Rev. Robert T., 289, 614
Walker, Rev. William T., 87, 162, 565
Wallace, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 43
Wallace, Rev. John, 693
Wallace, Rev. Simson, 662
Walton, Rev. William A., 524
Warden, Rev. John, 695
Wardlaw, Rev, Ralph, D.D., 23
Wardrop, Rev. James, D.D. , 564
Wardrop, Rev. William C, 144, 532
Warner, Rev, John, 532
Waters, Rev. Thomas, 683
Watson, Rev. Alexander, 605
Watson, Rev. George B. , 621
Watson, Rev. John, 46
Watson, Rev. John M., 276
Watson, Rev. Robert, 574
Watson, Rev. William (Glasgow), 39
Watson, Rev. William (Old Kilpatrick),
191
Watt, Rev. J. Anderson, 71
Watt, Mr James, M.D., 328
Watt, Rev. John, 51, 697
Watt, Rev. Thomas, 592
Waugh, Rev. Alexander, D.D., 464
Webster, Rev. David, 485
Weir, Rev. Alexander, 129, 361
Weir, Rev. John, 425
Welch, Rev. Adam, 100
Wells, Rev. Laurence, 230
Westwater, Rev. James, 505, 716
Westwood, Rev. William, 536
Whillas, Rev. Thomas F., 244
White, Rev. Hugh, 298
White, Rev. William, 581
Whitefield, Rev. George, 130
Whitelaw, Rev. Thomas, D.D., 35, 292
Whyte, Rev. Alexander, 113
Whyte, Rev. Andrew, 500, 703
Whyte, Rev. Ebenezer E., 275
Whyte, Rev. Robert, D.D., 140, 265
Wield, Rev. Andrew, 148
Willans, Rev. William, 465, 632
Willcock, Rev. John, 654
Williams, Rev. John, 82
Williamson, Rev. George, 457
Williamson, Rev. Thomas, 472
Willis, Rev. Michael, D.D., 171
Willis, Rev. William, 169, 513, 669
Willison, Rev. Archibald, 489
Wills, Rev. John, 437
Wilson, Rev. Adam, 544
Wilson, Rev. David (Cumnock), 334
Wilson, Rev. David (Kilmarnock), 288,
651
Wilson, Rev. David (Kirkcaldy), 357
Wilson, Rev. David (Lauder), 447
Wilson, Rev. David (Pittenweem), 387,
556
Wilson, Rev. Gabriel, 247, 466
Wilson, Rev. John, Ph.D., 83
Wilson, Rev. John (Bellshill), 224
Wilson, Rev. John (Methven), 620
Wilson, Rev. John (Paisley), 526
Wilson, Rev. John (Partick), 119,432,
488
Wilson, Rev. John M. , 73
Wilson, Rev. Peter, 119
Wilson, Rev. Robert (Partick), 118
Wilson, Rev. Robert (Thornliebank),
148
Wilson, Rev. Robert, D.D., 175, 178
Wilson, Right Rev. W. S. W., LL.D.,
387
Wilson, Mr William, 661
Wilson, Rev. William (Greenock), 175
Wilson, Rev. William (Ireland), 637
Wilson, Rev. William (Perth), 238, 282,
544, 583
Wilson, Rev. William B., 225
Wilson, Rev. William B. R., 712
Winchester, Rev. James, 258
INDEX
743
Wither, Rev. Alexander, 498, 508
Witherow, Rev. James M., in
Wood, Rev. James, 415
Wood, Rev. J. Julius, D.D., 415
Wood, Rev. William (Campsie), 157
Wood, Rev. William (Lismore), 163
Woodside, Rev. David, 26, 74, 492
Wotherspoon, Rev. John, 462
Wright, Rev. James, 279, 635
Wright, Rev. Thomas, 670
Wylie, Rev. Alexander L. , 656
Wylie, Rev. Andrew, 491
Wylie, Rev. David S., 512
Wylie, Rev. James, 640
Wylie, Rev. James A., LL.D., 359 712
Young, Rev. Alexander, 618
Young, Rev. Andrew, 285, 414
Young, Rev. Andrew M., 198
Young, Rev. David (Chatton), 643
Young, Rev. David, D.D. (Glasgow), 74
Young, Rev. David (Kinclaven), 639
Young, Rev. David (Muirkirk), 346
Young, Rev. David, D.D. (Perth), 143,
548
Young, Rev. Forrest F., 207
Young, Rev. George J., 465
Young, Rev. James, 705
Young, Rev. John (Buchlyvie), 688
Young, Rev. John (Catrine), 348
Young, Rev. John (Greenock), 176, 684
Young, Rev. ]ohn, D.D., 456, 462, 671
Young, Rev. Peter, 255
Young, Rev. Thomas M., M.D., 176
Young, Rev. William (Berwick-on-
Tweed), 279
Young, Rev. William (Crail), 398
Young, Rev. William (Glasgow), 106,
472
Young, Rev. W. P., 647
Yule, Rev. William, 135
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS
VOL. I
Preface, page vii. 1. 35. '■'• Finlay''' should read '■'■ Findlay.^'
Page 9. John Bryce, though connected with Carsphairn^ was a
native of Falkirk.
Page 41,1. 20. Kilwinning should read Dairy.
Page 45, footnote. It was to George Johnston, not to Andrew Lawson,
that James Carlyle applied the words " Let the hireling go."
Page 46, 1. 13. Though the cost of Ecclefechan new church was estimated
at .1^1750 it came to ;^iooo more.
Page 64, 1. 45. " Gave an address" should read '■'■ Attended a nteetijtg."
Page 84, 1. 52. Dr Grieve is a native of Smailholm parish, but entered the
Hall from Braid Church, Edinburgh.
Page 87, 1. 10. '■'■Third" should read " Thirdc'^ all through.
Page III. " Presbytery of Banff" should read " Presbytery of Banff-
shire " all through.
Page 134, 1. 5. " Strathhaven " should read " Strathaven."
Page 1 38, 1. 2 1 . " Banff" should read " Buchan."
Page 141, 1. 34. '■''Sanquhar {South)" should read '■'■Irvine {Trinity)."
Page 145, 1. 39. " Village" should read "district."
Page 159, 1. 40. '■'■Step-brother" should read "half-brother."
744
HISTORY OF U.P. CONGREGATIONS
Page 171, 1. 20. '•''Nineteenth'''' should read '"'' eighteenth^
Page 181, 1. 33. " Gleftdarvel" should read " Glendaruel."
Page 194, 1. II. I am now satisfied that this is the Condiecleuch (Condu-
cloich) where the Associate Presbytery held an early meeting.
Page 21 1, 1. 42. " 1773 " should read " 1737."
Page 227, fourth paragraph. A manse was bought for ^1000 in 1894, and
two years afterwards ^350 of that sum, as well as other requirements,
was met by means of a bazaar. The ^20 allowed by the Board in
name of house rent goes to meet the interest on the remaining ^650.
The reduction in membership, the roll having come down 50 in one
year, was owing to the session's faithfulness in dealing with nominal
members in a church hastily collected. Mr Marr, we may state, is a
native of Newhills parish, Aberdeenshire.
Page 247, 1. 31. " Queen's" should read '■'■King's.'"
Page 252, 1. 5. " David B. Alexander" should read " David R. Alexander. "
Page 356, 1. 39. " Born " should read " brought up."
Page 368, 1. 7. Read "^170, besides the senior minister's ^40 from the
congregation, and ^30 of supplement, and the manse."
Page 388, 1. 45. ''Sibbe's" should read Sibbe^."
'■'■Subject" should read '■'■subjects."
'■'■Partick" should read " Patrick."
"1865 "should read "1868."
" Columba " should read " Columbia^
'■'■December" should read '■^November."
" St Andrew Place" should read " St Andrew's Place" all
Page 389, 1. 27.
Page 392, 1. 13.
Page 396, 1. 9.
Page 438, 1. II.
Page 470, 1. 47.
Page 502.
through.
Page 512. The paper headed" Defence League," and put into print, was
never handed in to Junction Road session, but was allowed to drop.
Of the elders who resigned office, nine was the number that left the
church, and one of these returned some time afterwards.
Page 536, 1. 38. Manse was built in 1884. Cost ^1250, of which ^320
came from the Manse Board. Another sum of ^1250 was expended in
renovating the church in 1889.
Page 545. Mention should have been made of Dr Robertson's work
on Conscience, published in 1894. It brought out his philosophic bent
of mind, and prepared the way for the professorial dignity to which he
has since attained.
Page 555, 1. 5. At the moderation 246 voted for Mr David King and 182
for Mr Walter Duncan.
Page 589. Here the name of Dr W. G. Rutherford, Headmaster of
Westminster, should not be passed over. Though he has taken orders
in the Church of England he is still a son of the Relief manse at
Mountaincross.
age 590, 1st paragraph. Mr King had conducted three services on the
fourth Sabbath of August, and Mr Duncan had done the same on the
fifth Sabbath, the day before the moderation. The newspaper report at
the time was inaccurate.
CORRECTIONS AND ADDITIONS 745
Page 644, 1. 40. " Two and a half years " should read " six and a half."
Page 674, 1. 4. ^"^ J antes Chalmers " should read ^'•John C. Chalmers."
Page 674, 1. 19. '•'• Graham^ s Road" should read '•'■ Erskine Church"
The names of the Rev. David Anderson, Ceres, and the Rev. George Deans,
Portobello, were inadvertently omitted in the Index.
VOL. II
Page 89, 1. 45. " Seven and a half" years should read '•'■five" years.
Page 89, 1. 50. " St Andrew's Square" should read " St Andrew Square."
Page 133,1. 7. '■^'Rty.John M. M'Innes" should read "Rev. Robert M.
M'Innes."
Page 640, 1. 49. " Donagheloney " should read " Donaghdoney."
Ralston (Paisley Presbytery) was congregated on 2nd October 1900. It
began in Extension work in the east end of Paisley, and had been placed
under the charge of Mr J. B. Young, M.A., probationer, on ist March.
The church buildings were estimated to cost ^i 170, of which the Board
consented to allow ^500.
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