James Nicol (28 September 1769 – 5 November 1819) 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 ...

, known as a poet and writer.

Life

The son of Michael Nicol, he was born on 28 September 1769 at

Innerleithen Innerleithen ( gd, Inbhir Leitheann) is a civil parish and a small town in the committee area of Tweeddale, in the Scottish Borders. It was formerly in the historic county of Peeblesshire or Tweeddale. Etymology The name "Innerleithen" comes ...

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lan ...

, went to the parish school, and was originally destined to be a shoemaker. He qualified 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 ...

for the ministry, and after acting as tutor in private families was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Peebles (25 March 1801). Nicol became assistant to John Walker, parish minister of

Traquair Traquair ( gd, Cille Bhrìghde) is a small village and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders; Counties of Scotland, until 1975 it was in the county of Peeblesshire. The village is situated on the B709 road south of Inn ...

, near Innerleithen (15 May 1802), and succeeded to the charge, on the death of the incumbent, on 4 November. A knowledge of medicine acquired at university enabled him to vaccinate parishioners. In 1808 he founded the first

friendly society A friendly society (sometimes called a benefit society, mutual aid society, benevolent society, fraternal organization or ROSCA) is a mutual association for the purposes of insurance, pensions, savings or cooperative banking. It is a mutual org ...

at Innerleithen. After a change in his religious views Nicol contemplated resigning his charge. He died, after a short illness, on 5 November 1819.

Works

Nicol published at Edinburgh in 1805, in two volumes, ''

Poems, chiefly in the Scottish Dialect ''Poems, Chiefly in the Scottish Dialect'', commonly known as the Kilmarnock Edition, is a collection of poetry by Robert Burns, first printed and issued by John Wilson of Kilmarnock on 31 July 1786. It was the first published edition of Burns' w ...

'', and he is represented in Alexander Whitelaw's ''Book of Scottish Song'', 1844. ''An Essay on the Nature and Design of Scripture Sacrifice'' appeared in London in 1823. Besides contributing poems to the '' Edinburgh Magazine'', Nicol, who studied ecclesiastical history and forms, wrote articles for the ''

Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Edin ...

''.

Family

In 1802 Nicol married Agnes Walker, sister of his predecessor, Rev John Walker, whose virtues he had celebrated in verse. She died on 19 March 1845. They had three daughters and three sons, including the geologist

James Nicol James Nicol, Nichol, Nicholl or Nicoll may refer to: * James Nicol (geologist) (1810–1879), Scottish geologist * James Nicol (minister) (1769–1819), Scottish poet * James Dyce Nicol (1805–1872), Scottish politician * James Nicholl (1890–1 ...

Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Nicol, James 1769 births 1819 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Scottish poets Clergy from the Scottish Borders Writers from the Scottish Borders 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland