James Brown (1724–1786) was a

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 ...

minister 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 t ...

in 1777.

Life

He was baptised on 17 December 1724 the youngest son of Rev James Brown of

Abercorn Abercorn (Gaelic: ''Obar Chùirnidh'', Old English: ''Æbbercurnig'') is a village and civil parish in West Lothian, Scotland. Close to the south coast of the Firth of Forth, the village is around west of South Queensferry. The parish had a p ...

. He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

, graduating MA in 1742. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Perth in July 1745. He was ordained as minister of Melrose Parish Church in February 1748. In 1767 he translated to New Greyfriars in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

in place of Rev John Erskine. In November 1768 he moved to New (West) Kirk, St Giles on the

Royal Mile The Royal Mile () is a succession of streets forming the main thoroughfare of the Old Town of the city of Edinburgh in Scotland. The term was first used descriptively in W. M. Gilbert's ''Edinburgh in the Nineteenth Century'' (1901), des ...

in Edinburgh. He was elected

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 ...

in 1777 in place of Rev John Ker of Forfar. In 1785 he is listed as living at "Laurieston": the district close to

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a Scottish independent primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff ...

south of the town centre. He died on 6 May 1786.Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana by Hew Scott

Family

In June 1748 he married Helen Drummond (died 1754) third daughter of Captain Lawrence Drummond. Their children included: *John (1749–1757) *Katharine (1750–1752) *Elizabeth (1751–1764) *Helen (born 1754) married John Pattison, advocate Helen died a month after giving birth to Helen. In November 1755 Brown married Marion Tod (died 1786), daughter of Robert Tod, an Edinburgh merchant. Their children included: *Janet (1756–1759) *Margaret (1757–1768) *Robert Brown of Kirklands WS (1758–1812) apprenticed to his in-law Thomas Tod *Rev James Brown, minister of Newburn (possibly the twin of Robert) *John (1761–1767) *Thomas (1766–1801) Edinburgh merchant *Marion Brown (born 1771) married John Gray of Newholm WS

Publications

*The Extensive Influence of Religious Knowledge (1769) *Plan for Regulating the Charity Workhouse

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, James 1724 births 1786 deaths People from East Lothian Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Ministers of St Giles' Cathedral Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland