Duncan Shaw (1727–1794) was a minister of the Church of Scotland and historian, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1786.

Life

He was born in the manse at Elgin in 1727 the son of Lachlan Shaw, minister of the parish and author of the History of Morayshire. He was educated locally then studied at King's College, Aberdeen graduating MA in March 1747 he then undertook further studies in Divinity at Edinburgh University. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Elgin in November 1752.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott He was ordained to

Rafford Rafford ( gd, Ràthard) is a village in Moray, Scotland. It is approximately southeast of the town of Forres, and northwest of the village of Dallas. The parish church was designed by James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 ...

in May 1753. Marischal College 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 September 1774. In April 1783 Aberdeen Town Council chose him as minister of the North Parish in Aberdeen, one of the three parishes contained within St Nicholas' Church in the city centre, and he translated to this new position in November 1783. In 1786 he succeeded

Henry Moncrieff-Wellwood Henry Moncreiff-Wellwood 8th Baronet of Tullibole FRSE (6 February 1750–9 August 1827) was both a baronet in the Baronetage of Nova Scotia and minister of the Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church ...

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 by Robert Liston. He died in Aberdeen on 23 June 1794.

Family

In 1754 he married Jean Gordon (d.1795) daughter of George Gordon of

Alves Alves is a surname that appears to originate both from Portugal and Scotland. It is debatable whether the surname appeared first in one country or the other, since it is more prevalent in Portugal, but registered as far back as the 13th century in ...

. They had three sons and four daughters.

Publications

*''A Comparative View if the Several Methods of Promoting Religious Instruction from the Earlist Down to the Present Time'' (2 vols. 1776) *''The History of Gamaliel'' *''The History and Philosophy of Judaism'' (1787) *''The Centurion's Testimony to Christ's Divinity'' (1793)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shaw, Duncan 1727 births 1794 deaths Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland