James Murison (c. 1705–1779) was a Scottish minister who served as Principal of St Leonard's College at St Andrews University and

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 1767.

Life

He was born around 1705 in Kincardineshire. Studying divinity at

Kings College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

he graduated MA in April 1721. After a long wait for a patron (then essential in the Scottish church), he was proposed as minister of Edzell and Newdosk in June 1729 and accepted and ordained on 17 September 1729. In October 1743 he was translated to

Kinnell Kinnell is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Andy Kinnell (born 1947), Scottish footballer * Galway Kinnell (1927–2014), American poet * George Kinnell George Kinnell (22 December 1937 – 16 October 2021) was a Scottis ...

Church, near

Arbroath Arbroath () or Aberbrothock ( gd, Obar Bhrothaig ) is a former royal burgh and the largest town in the council area of Angus, Scotland, with a population of 23,902. It lies on the North Sea coast some ENE of Dundee and SSW of Aberdeen. The ...

. In March 1747 he is recorded as having had been robbed at his manse in Kinnell. In September 1747 he left the ministry to become principal of

St Marys College, St Andrews (In the Beginning was the Word) , established = , type = College , endowment = , staff = , faculty = , rector = , chancellor = , principal = Oliver D. Crisp , free_label = Teaching staff , free = 20 , ...

and in March 1748 became rector of St Andrews University. In 1779 he is recorded as being in very poor health. He died on 30 July 1779. His position at St Andrews University was succeeded by Rev Dr James Gillespie.The History of St Andrews (1843)

Family

On 12 October 1744 he married Annabella Trent (died 1761) in Leuchars 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 ...

. She was his second wife. His children included James Murison of Denbrae (c. 1740 – 1803 Mid Calder), a child from his first marriage.

References

1779 deaths 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of St Andrews Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Year of birth uncertain {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub