Archibald Watson (1821–1881) was a minister of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

, who served 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 1880. From 1868 to 1881 he served as chaplain to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...

in Scotland.

Life

He was born in

Lochwinnoch Lochwinnoch (; sco, Lochineuch, gd, Loch Uinneach) is a village in the council area and historic county of Renfrewshire in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. Lying on the banks of Castle Semple Loch and the River Calder, Lochwinnoch is c ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

on 9 July 1821 the first son of John Watson, a shoemaker, and his wife Annette Clullich. He was educated at the local school and then studied at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

graduating MA in 1845 and licensed to preach by the Presbytery of

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier *Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia *Irvine Island *Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada *Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut United Kingdom *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...

later that year.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott His first clerical role was briefly as assistant at

Beith Beith is a small town in the Garnock Valley, North Ayrshire, Scotland approximately south-west of Glasgow. The town is situated on the crest of a hill and was known originally as the "''Hill o' Beith''" (hill of the birches) after its ''Court ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

. In February 1846 he was ordained as minister of St Matthew's Church in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. After 16 years in Glasgow in February 1862 he translated to

Dundee Parish Church (St Mary's) Dundee Parish Church (St Mary’s) is located in the east section of Dundee's "City Churches", the other being occupied by the Steeple Church. Both are congregations in the Church of Scotland, although with differing styles of worship. Dundee ...

a large parish church serving central Dundee. Whilst in this role he was also appointed chaplain to

in 1868. In 1867 he accompanied Norman Macleod on a fact-finding mission, supported by the Church of Scotland, to write a report on the state of their many missions in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Their report was presented to the General Assembly in 1868. In 1880 he succeeded

James Crystal James Chrystal or Crystal (1807–c.1890) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1879 to 1880. Life He was born in 1807 on Cochrane Street in Glasgow, the second son of William ...

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 ...

the highest position in the Scottish Church. He died in office but was succeeded in the following summer by James Smith of Cathcart. He died in St Mary's manse at 54 Ferry RoadDundee Post Office Directory 1880 in Dundee on 20 July 1881.

Family

In November 1847 he married Robina Urquhart (died 1913) daughter of Rev Robert Urquhart of

Kilbirnie Kilbirnie ( Gaelic: ''Cill Bhraonaigh'') is a small town of 7,280 (as of 2001) inhabitants situated in the Garnock Valley area of North Ayrshire, on the west coast of Scotland. It is around southwest of Glasgow and approximately from Paisle ...

. Their children included: *Elizabeth (1849–1893) *John Morrice Watson (1850–1915) a stockbroker in Dundee *Anne (1852–54) *Jessie Urquhart Watson (born 1854) married Rev William Rose of St Mary's Church in

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and to t ...

*Mary (1856–57) *Archibald Watson (born 1857) a tea planter *Robina (born 1859) *Rev Robert Matthew Watson (born 1862) minister of Clova *Frederick Watson (1864–1919)

Publications

*''Report to the General Assembly of 1868 on the Indian Missions'' (1868) *''Christ's Authority and Other Sermons'' (1883)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watson, Archibald 1821 births 1881 deaths People from Renfrewshire Alumni of the University of Glasgow Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland