Alexander Topp (1814–1879) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who emigrated to Canada and twice served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the

Presbyterian Church of Canada The Presbyterian Church in Canada (french: Église presbytérienne du Canada) is a Presbyterian denomination, serving in Canada under this name since 1875. The United Church of Canada claimed the right to the name from 1925 to 1939. According to ...

Life

He was born at Sheriffmill near

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Chatham-Kent, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario ...

on 1 April 1814 the second of three sons in a family of six. He was educated at Elgin Academy then studied Divinity at King's College, Aberdeen where he graduated MA in 1831. He was ordained by the Church of Scotland at the High Church in Elgin in 1838 having assisted at the church since 1836. He left the established church in the Disruption of 1843 and created the Free High Church of Elgin. In 1852 he was translated to the Free Roxburgh Church in Edinburgh. In 1858 he emigrated to Canada to serve in the Knox Presbyterian Church in Toronto. He remained there until death. In 1868 he was unanimously elected Moderator of the Canada Presbyterian Church. From 1871 to 1875 he worked on the union of the four presbyterian churches to create the

. He was Moderator of the new church in 1876. He was a Governor of

Knox College, Toronto , mottoeng = The word gives light , established = , religious_affiliation = Presbyterian Church , type = Federated theological college , principal = Ernest van Eck , city = Tor ...

. He was a joint founder of the

Presbyterian College, Toronto Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their na ...

and in 1871 helped to found the Manitoba College in Manitoba. From 1874 to 1879 he served on the management of the Toronto Home for Incurables. From 1866 to 1870 he served the Toronto Home of Industry. He died in Toronto on 6 October 1879. He is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto.

Family

In 1850 he married Jane Mortimer widow of John Clark both of Aberdeen. Their only child died in 1853.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Topp, Alexander 1814 births 1879 deaths People from Elgin, Moray People educated at Elgin Academy, Moray 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland People from Old Toronto