James Henderson (1797 – 12 September 1874) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland 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 1855/56. GUL580Pjpeg

Early life and ministry

Henderson was born in Kelso on 4 February 1797 and was educated at Kelso Grammar School. 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 ...

. Then he studied under George Lawson at Selkirk Divinity Hall. After examination he was licensed by Presbytery of Selkirk. He was ordained by the by Presbytery of Kelso, on 4 September 1821, to the Low Meeting,

Berwick-upon-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

. On 27 November 1823 he translated to St Bernard's Church in

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Stockbridge is a suburb of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. Originally a small outlying village, i ...

. On 21 February 1828 translated to

Ratho Ratho ( gd, Ràthach) is a village in the Rural West Edinburgh area of Edinburgh, Scotland. Its population at the 2011 census was 1,634 based on the 2010 definition of the locality. It was formerly in the old county of Midlothian. Ratho Statio ...

Kirk. He lived in Ratho manse.Ewing, William ''Annals of the Free Church'' In 1832 he moved to St Enoch's Church in

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, being presented by the Magistrates and Council 29 August, and admitted 29 November 1832. He was awarded a doctorate D.D. by Glasgow University in 1837. He was then living at 29 Bath Street.

After the Disruption

In 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 ...

he left the Church of Scotland and joined the Free Church of Scotland. He was minister of St Enoch's Free Church from 1843-1874. A St Enoch's Free Church was built on Waterloo Street in Glasgow. He also played a role in the wider church being convener of the Foreign Mission Scheme of the Free Church. In 1855 he succeeded Rev James Grierson as

the highest position in the church. In 1856 he was succeeded in turn by Rev Thomas M'Crie. He died in

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on 12 September 1874. After his death St Enoch's Free Church was known as the Melville Church after its next minister Rev Melville.

Family

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

He married twice: *(1) 16 March 1826, Eleanor Rutherford (died 27 January 1841), daughter of James Russell, Professor of Clinical Surgery, University of Edinburgh, and had issue — **Joseph, born 7 January, and died 18 April 1829 **Eleanor Russell, born 27 September 1830, died 23 August 1840 **James, merchant, Burma, born 18 June 1832, died 12 May 1904 **John Joseph, born 15 March 1834, died 13 February 1837 **Agnes, born 1836, died 26 February 1845 **Archibald, D.D., United Free Church minister of Crieff, Moderator of United Free Assembly in 1909, Principal of U.F. College, Glasgow, 1918, born 9 August 1837 **Francis, M.D., Glasgow, born 28 August 1838, died 15 May 1910 *(2) 16 August 1854, Charlotte Margery (died s.p. 28 November 1885), daughter of James Reddie, solicitor, Glasgow.

Publications

*Two occasional Sermons (Edinburgh, 1828; Glasgow, 1843) *Popery un-changed, the Creed of Pius IV. still the Creed of the Church of Rome *Lectures IV. (On the Social Condition of the People) *VII. (On the Jews) *VIII. (On the Evidences of Revealed Religion) *I. (On Protestantism)

Bibliography

*The Border Almanac, 1875

Artistic recognition

He was photographed in 1860 (''illustrated'' right) at the foot of the steps to New College with several other ex-Moderators of the Free Church.

References

;Citations ;Sources * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Henderson, James 1797 births 1874 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland