Alexander Mair (1834–1911) was a Scottish minister of the United Presbyterian Church who served as its final Moderator in 1899/1900.

Life

The grave of Rev Alexander Mair, Morningside Cemetery

He was born in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

on 20 September 1834. He is thought to be the grandson of Col Alexander Mair, Deputy Governor of Fort George, living at 8 Abercromby Place in

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 ...

in 1834. Col Mair was from a family of ministers. He trained as a minister at Theological Hall 1856 to 1859 and joined the United Presbyterian Church. In the 1870s he was living at 7 Abbotsford Park in

Morningside, Edinburgh Morningside is a district and former village in the south of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies alongside the main arterial Morningside Road, part of an ancient route from Edinburgh to the south west of Scotland. The original village served several ...

. In 1875 Mair wrote, "Was the Lord's Supper Instituted with Wine? Answered in the Affirmative." In 1879 he took over the ministry of the newly built North Morningside United Presbyterian Church at

Holy Corner Holy Corner is a colloquial name for a small area of Edinburgh, Scotland, and (along with Church Hill) is part of the area more properly known as Burghmuirhead, itself part of the lands of Greenhill. Holy Corner lies between the areas of Bru ...

. In 1899/1900 he was the church's final

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 ...

before it merged with the Free Church of Scotland to create the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

. He was then a minister of the United Free Church until death. In later life he moved to 25 Greenhill Gardens.Edinburgh Post Office Directory 1911 He died on 24 March 1911. He is buried in

Morningside Cemetery, Edinburgh Morningside Cemetery is a cemetery in south Edinburgh. It was established in 1878 by the Metropolitan Cemetery Company, originally just outwith the then city boundary, the nearest suburb then being Morningside. It extends to just over 13 ac ...

. The grave is marked by a granite Celtic cross.

Family

He was married to Margaret McIntosh. He was father to the classic scholar

Alexander William Mair Alexander William Mair (9 June 1875–13 November 1928) was a 20th century Scottish scholar who was Professor of Greek at the University of Edinburgh. He was an authority on the works of the Greek poet Hesiod. Life He was born in Edinburgh o ...

, grandfather to

Norman Mair Norman George Robertson Mair (7 October 1928 – 7 December 2014) was a Scottish international rugby union and cricket player.Bath, p105 He later became a journalist for ''The Scotsman'' reporting on rugby and golf,McLaren, p88 and also wro ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mair, Alexander 1834 births 1911 deaths Clergy from Edinburgh Ministers of the United Presbyterian Church (Scotland) Ministers of the United Free Church of Scotland