Colin Smith (1802–1867) 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 ...

and amateur botanist, 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 1861. He was involved in translating the Bible into Gaelic.

Life

Glenaray and Inveraray Parish Church - geograph

He was born at Glenorchy in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

in1802 the son of Patrick Smith a merchant and 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 , ...

.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott His first role in the clergy was as assistant to Paul Fraser at

Inverary Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of Arg ...

Parish Church and then assisting Angus McLain at the same church. In April 1828 he was ordained as minister of the parish under the patronage of George William,

Duke of Argyll Duke of Argyll ( gd, Diùc Earraghàidheil) is a title created in the peerage of Scotland in 1701 and in the peerage of the United Kingdom in 1892. The earls, marquesses, and dukes of Argyll were for several centuries among the most powerful ...

in place of NcLain who translated to another parish. In August 1831 he translated to the neighbouring parish of Glenaray his place at Inverary being filled by Duncan Campbell. Smith remained minister of Glenaray for the rest of his life. In 1840 he formed part of the small Committee translating the Bible into Gaelic to address the issues of the outer islands where Gaelic remained either the dominant or sole language. In December 1849 Glasgow 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 ...

. In 1861 he succeeded James Maitland 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 ...

the highest position in the Scottish Church. He was succeeded in turn by James Bisset. He died on 13 July 1867.

Family

Around 1833 he married Ann Barbara Campbell (d.1886), daughter of Dugald Campbell of Achleen. Their twelve children included: *Alice (b.1835) married Rev Stewart Wright of

Blantyre Blantyre () is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with an enumerated 800,264 inhabitants . It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, L ...

*Isabella (1836-1902) *John Patrick Smith (1838-1905) died in

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*Barbara (1840-1859) *Margaret Ann (b.1842) married Rev James Macfadyen of Kildalton *Annie (b.1843) married Clement Simpson a marchant in

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

*Jeannie (b.1845) married Rev Donald Carmichael minister of

*Wilhelmina Mary (1847-1873) *Colina Lily (1849-1901) married William Walker Munsie a merchant in London and

*Patrick Dugald Smith (b.1851) *Elizabeth Dora (1853-1871) *Duncan (1856-1858)

Publications

*Account of the Parishes of Glenaray and Glassary (1845)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Colin 1802 births 1867 deaths Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland