Alexander Lockhart Simpson (1785–1861) was a Scottish minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

in 1849/50. The church at Kirknewton - geograph

Life

He was born in April 1785. In 1803 he was a student at the Selkirk Hall of the Secession Church under Professor Lawson.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of

Kirkcaldy Kirkcaldy ( ; sco, Kirkcaldy; gd, Cair Chaladain) is a town and former royal burgh in Fife, on the east coast of Scotland. It is about north of Edinburgh and south-southwest of Dundee. The town had a recorded population of 49,460 in 2011, ...

in January 1810. In October 1812 he was ordained as minister of Kirknewton under the patronage of George

Earl of Morton The title Earl of Morton was created in the Peerage of Scotland in 1458 for James Douglas of Dalkeith. Along with it, the title Lord Aberdour was granted. This latter title is the courtesy title for the eldest son and heir to the Earl of Morton. ...

. From 1828 he was made Joint Clerk of the General Assembly and in 1849 he succeeded Very Rev George Buist as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

. In 1836 Edinburgh University awarded him an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

. He became Principal Clerk to the General Assembly in 1859. The elders of his church included

Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank The Hon Allan Maconochie, Lord Meadowbank FRSE FSA (Scot) (1748–1816) was a Scottish advocate, academic jurist, judge and agriculturalist. Life The only son of Alexander Maconochie of Meadowbank, Kirknewton, Midlothian, by his wife Isabella, ...

. He died in the manse in Kirknewton on 15 December 1861. When he died he was Principal Clerk to the General Assembly. He was unmarried and had no children. He is buried in Dalry Cemetery in western

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

.''Monuments and Monumental Inscriptions in Scotland'', vol.3, Charles Rogers

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Simpson, Alexander Lockhart 1785 births 1861 deaths Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland