James Ramsay (1672–1749) was a Church of Scotland minister who served twice as Moderator of the General Assembly in both 1738 and 1741. He was Dean of the Chapel Royal from 1716 to 1726. At the time of his death in 1749 he was the acknowledged Father of the Church.

Life

He was born in central Scotland in 1672 and appears to be related to the Ramsays of Edington. He graduated MA at St Andrews University in 1687 (aged 15). He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Duns and

Chirnside Chirnside is a hillside village in Berwickshire, Scotland, west of Berwick-upon-Tweed and east of Duns. Church The parish church at Chirnside dates from the 12th century. It was substantially rebuilt in 1878 and extensively restored and a ...

in November 1692.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott He was ordained at Eyemouth Parish Church in May 1693. In September 1706 he translated to Kelso Psrish Church. In November 1706 he unsuccessfully opposed the Scottish bishops' involvement with the forthcoming

Act of Union 1707 The Acts of Union ( gd, Achd an Aonaidh) were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act 1707 passed by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the te ...

. In 1714 he was one of the several senior ministers sent by the General Assembly to congratulate King George I on his ascension to the throne. A Royalist, he strongly opposed both Jacobite rebellions, 1715 and 1745. In 1716 he was elected Dean of the Chapel Royal in 1716 but stood down in 1726 when the Government changed. In 1738 he succeeded Rev Alexander Anderson as

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 ...

the highest position in the Scottish church. In 1741 he was elected a second time, succeeding Rev George Logan. He is said to have walked the 45 miles from Kelso to Edinburgh to join the General Assembly, probably over two or three days. He died on 3 July 1749. He is almost certainly buried at Kelso, possibly under the floor of the church itself (which was still the habit in rural parishes at this time. His position as minister was filled by Rev Cornelius Lundie, grandson of Rev James Lundie.

Family

Around 1694 he married Alison Nisbet daughter of William Nisbet, an Eyemouth merchant. They had one daughter, Jean Ramsay, who married William Hume the younger of

Scotstoun Scotstoun ( gd, Baile an Sgotaich) is an area of Glasgow, Scotland, west of Glasgow City Centre. It is bounded by Garscadden and Yoker to the west, Victoria Park, Jordanhill and Whiteinch to the east, Jordanhill to the north and the River Clyde ...

. In July 1731 he married Margaret Borthwick, daughter of Alexander Borthwick of Sauchnell and widow of Rev John Lauder of Eccles (a village north-east of Kelso). They had a daughter, Elizabeth Ramsay, who married Rev Robert Park of Foulden.

Publications

*Letters from a Gentleman to a Member of Parliament Concerning Toleration (1703) *Remarks Upon the Case of the Episcopal Clergy and those of the Episcopalian Persuasion (1703) *Toleration's Fence Removed (1703) *An Examination of Three Prelactical Pamphlets (1703)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramsay, James 1672 births 1749 deaths Deans of the Chapel Royal Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland