George Cook (1812–1888) 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 1876. He was part of the "Cook Dynasty" (mainly centred in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

) and both his father and brother also served as Moderator.

Life

He was born in the manse of

Laurencekirk Laurencekirk (, sco, Lowrenkirk, gd, Eaglais Labhrainn), colloquially known as "The Lang Toun" or amongst locals as simply "The Kirk", is a small town in the historic county of Kincardineshire, Scotland, just off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen ...

on 11 June 1812 the son of George Cook who served as Moderator in 1825 and was later Professor of Moral Philosophy at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He was educated at Laurencekirk parish school then studied divinity at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

graduating MA around 1832. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of

in 1836. His first clergical role was as assistant to James MacDonald at

Kemback Kemback is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland, located east of Cupar. The present village was developed in the 19th century to house those working the flax mills on the nearby Ceres Burn. From 1681 the minister for the parish was Alexander ...

. In 1841, as part of the Church's Foreign Missions projects, he was ordained as a Church of Scotland Chaplain in

Bombay Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

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 ...

. After 20 years in India he returned to Scotland as minister of

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, Blackburn, Linlithgow, Livingston, West Calder and Whitburn. Situated sout ...

Parish Church. In May 1867 he translated to Borgue on the south-west coast of Scotland. In 1872 St Andrews 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 1876 he succeeded James Sellar 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

K. M. Phin Kenneth Macleay Phin (1816–1888) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1877. He ran the Church of Scotland’s Home Mission Scheme. As a church campaigner and pamphleteer he was ...

. He died on 29 February 1888.

Family

In June 1842 he married Jane Halkett Pattullo (died 1886) daughter of Robert Pattullo of Balhouffie in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. Their children included: *Charlotte Stewart Cook (born 1843) *Rev George Cook (c.1845) minister of

Longformacus Longformacus ( gd, Longphort Mhacais) is a small village in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. It is around north-west of Duns, in the Lammermuir Hills. The Dye Water runs through the village, flowing east towards its confl ...

*Emily Cook (born 1848) married Rev Dr Alexander Irvine Robertson minister of

Clackmannan Clackmannan ( ; gd, Clach Mhanainn, perhaps meaning "Stone of Manau"), is a small town and civil parish set in the Central Lowlands of Scotland. Situated within the Forth Valley, Clackmannan is south-east of Alloa and south of Tillicoultry. Th ...

*Henry Shank Cook (born 1854) and his twin Diana, both died in infancy His maternal great uncles were

George Hill (minister) George Hill FRSE (27 May 1750–19 November 1819) was a Minister of St Andrews. He was a joint founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1783 and Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1789, but an active member for m ...

and

John Hill (classicist) John Hill FRSE (27 April 1747–7 December 1805) was a Scottish minister and classicist. In 1783 he was one of the joint founders of the Royal Society of Edinburgh. Life He was born in St Andrews on 27 April 1747 the son of Rev John Hill (d. 17 ...

Publications

*''Light and Life'' (1877)

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, George 1812 births 1888 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland People from Laurencekirk