James Grierson (2 July 1791–22 January 1875) was a Scottish 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 th ...

to the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

in 1854/55.

Early life

He was born in

Ruthwell Ruthwell is a village and parish on the Solway Firth between Dumfries and Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. Thomas Randolph, Earl of Moray, gave Ruthwell to his nephew, Sir William Murray, confirmed to Sir John Murray, of Cockpool, in ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

on 2 July 1791. He studied divinity 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 ...

. He was licensed by Presbytery of Stirling on 22 September 1816. He subsequently became tutor to Sir David Kinloch of Gilmerton, Bart. He was presented by John Lee Allen of Errol, 15 January, and ordained on 12 August 1819. In 1816 he was licensed to preach and began his ministry in

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

as a minister for 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 ...

. In 1819 he moved to Errol and remained minister of the established church there until the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...

Post Disruption

In 1843 he (and the bulk of the congregation) established the Free Church of Scotland in Errol. He remained in this role until his death in 1875. He was elected as Moderator of Free Church General Assembly on 18 May 1854. He was awarded a doctorate D.D. from Edinburgh University on 25 March 1854. He died on 22 January 1875 and is buried near his parents in

churchyard.

Publications

*A Doctrinal and Practical Treatise on the Lord's Supper *Believers reminded of the Increasing Nearness of their Salvation (Edinburgh, 1833) *Nicodemus, A Treatise on the Lord's Supper (Edinburgh, 1839) *Voices from the Cross (Edinburgh, 1855) *Heaven upon Earth, or Interviews with the Risen Saviour (Edinburgh, 1856) *The Divine Supplicant and Intercessor (Edinburgh, 1867) *Sermon LXIL, Lecture XXII. (Free Church Pulpit, ii., iii.).

Bibliography

*The Lyons of Cossins, 73 *Annals of the Disruption *The Evangel in Gowrie, 363.

Artistic recognition

The-moderator-and-ex-moderators-of-the-free-church

He was photographed by

Hill & Adamson Hill & Adamson was the first photography studio in Scotland, set up by painter David Octavius Hill and engineer Robert Adamson in 1843. During their brief partnership that ended with Adamson's untimely death, Hill & Adamson produced "the first s ...

in 1855. He was photographed in 1860 at the foot of the steps to New College with several other ex-Moderators of the Free Church.

Family

In 1822 he married Margaret Moncrieff (died 8 April 1875), daughter of Dr George Moncrieff of

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, and granddaughter of Rev George Lyon of

Longforgan Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road. History A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 13 ...

and had issue: *Jessy Moncrieff, born 21 December 1822 *Elizabeth Ann, born 9 October 1825 (married John Chalmers, M.D.), died 24 November 1891 *David James, born 29 June 1827, died 11 July 1829 *George Moncrieff, merchant, Glasgow, born 7 May 1829, died 4 February 1896 *Margaret Jane Jemima, born 21 February 1831, died 21 March 1891 *James Kinloch, born 24 February, and died 30 March 1834 *James Lyon Maxwell, born 20 November 1835.

References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grierson, James 1791 births 1875 deaths People from Dumfries and Galloway 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of Edinburgh