James Paton (1522 – 1596) was a 16th-century Scottish cleric from Ballilisk, an estate in the parish of

Muckhart Muckhart ( gd, Muc-Àird) commonly refers to two small villages in Clackmannanshire, Scotland, Pool of Muckhart ( gd, Poll Mhuc-Àird) and Yetts o' Muckhart. Muckhart is one of the Hillfoots Villages, situated on the A91 around northeast of D ...

, west of

Kinross Kinross (, gd, Ceann Rois) is a burgh in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, around south of Perth and around northwest of Edinburgh. It is the traditional county town of the historic county of Kinross-shire. History Kinross's origins are connect ...

. As Ballilisk appears to have been a rectory serving the adjacent chapel at Muckhart his family are presumed to have included priests who served the parish in Pre-Reformation days. He matriculated at St Salvator's College,

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

on 26 November 1540. He appears to have trained in Theology and was likely a priest pre-Reformation. At the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

of 1560 he adopted the Protestant stance, and certainly by January 1565 is listed as minister of

parish, which was then in

Perthshire Perthshire (locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the north, ...

. After the forfeiture of Bishop Robert Crichton in 1571, Paton became

Bishop of Dunkeld The Bishop of Dunkeld is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunkeld, one of the largest and more important of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Cormac. However, the first k ...

in July 1572. This seems to have been arranged for him by

Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 5th Earl of Argyll (1532/1537 – 12 September 1573) was a Scottish nobleman, peer, and politician. He was one of the leading figures in the politics of Scotland during the reign of Mary, Queen of Scots, and the early par ...

, to whom Paton handed over his farm at Muckhart Mill in addition to promising the Earl a share of episcopal revenue. This later brought him into disrepute with the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...

, as did his failure to proceed against the allegedly

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl John Stewart, 4th Earl of Atholl (died 25 April 1579), called the Fair, was a Scottish nobleman and courtier. He was favoured by Mary, Queen of Scots, but later turned against her. Biography Stewart was the son of John Stewart, 3rd Earl of Athol ...

. In December 1580 he was accused of conspiracy and treason and Paton failed to defend himself satisfactorily, and thereafter a decree was made depriving him of his bishopric. Paton resisted his forfeiture, but by 1585 was replaced by

Peter Rollock Peter Rollock or Rollo of Pilton (c. 1558–1632) was a Scottish law lord and Bishop of the Church of Scotland. Life The sixth and youngest son of Andrew Rollock, laird of Duncrub, Perthshire, and his wife, Marion Rollo, heiress of David R ...

. Paton returned to his old parish of Muckhart, though not in the capacity of a minister. He died there on 20 July 1596. He is buried in Muckhart churchyard. The grave is marked by a "table stone" just east of the Christie enclosure east of the current church.

Family

He is known to have had four children, including Archibald Paton, who served in

Dunkeld Cathedral Dunkeld Cathedral is a Church of Scotland place of worship which stands on the north bank of the River Tay in Dunkeld, Perth and Kinross, Scotland. Built in square-stone style of predominantly grey sandstone, the cathedral proper was begun in 12 ...

during his father's episcopate. His descendants stayed in Muckhart until 1760 when James and Andrew Paton left to live in Alloa, working as weavers and dyers. James' son John Paton (1768-1848) established the successful Kincraig cotton thread mill, which spawned Paton's cotton company. The later descendents included the eminent Forrester-Paton family which included

Ernest Forrester Paton Ernest Forrester Paton (1891–1970), also known by the Thamil name Chinnannan, was a Scottish United Free Church medical missionary to Pune, part of then-Bombay Presidency. He was the co-founder of ''Christukula Ashram'', the first Protesta ...

, Colin Forrester-Paton and

Catherine Forrester Paton Catherine Forrester Paton (1 June 1855 – 8 August 1914) was a British philanthropist, temperance campaigner and the founder of women's missionary training in Scotland. Life Paton was born in Alloa. Her parents were Alexander and Mary Forrester ...

.Clackmannan and the Ochils by Adam Swan ISBN 07073 0513 6

References

* Henderson, T. F., "Paton, James (c. 1522–1596)", rev. Duncan Shaw, in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
, retrieved 19 Feb 2007
* Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969) {{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, James 1522 births 1596 deaths Bishops of Dunkeld (Church of Scotland) People from Perth and Kinross Alumni of the University of St Andrews 16th-century bishops of the Church of Scotland