James Robertson

FRSE Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...

(1803–1860) was a Scottish minister who served 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 ...

. He was also a noted chemist.

Life

The grave of Very Rev Prof James Robertson, St Cuthberts

He was born on 2 January 1803 at Ardlaw Farm near Old

Pitsligo Pitsligo was a coastal parish in the historic county of Aberdeenshire, Scotland, containing the fishing villages of Rosehearty, Pittulie and Sandhaven,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, the son of Barbara Anderson and her husband, William Robertson, farmer. He was educated at Pitsligo and Tyrie parish schools. He then studied mathematics at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, graduating with an MA in 1820. In 1821 he began studying divinity and graduated a second time in 1825. Ordained to preach by 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 ...

he began preaching at Deer, Aberdeenshire in July 1825. He also ran a village school in Pitsligo. In 1826 Robertson began tutoring the family of the

Duke of Gordon The title Duke of Gordon has been created once in the Peerage of Scotland and again in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. The Dukedom, named after the Clan Gordon, was first created for the 4th Marquess of Huntly, who on 3 November 1684 was c ...

Gordon Castle Gordon Castle is located near Fochabers in Moray, Scotland. Historically known as the Bog-of-Gight or Bog o'Gight, it was the principal seat of the dukes of Gordon. Following 18th-century redevelopment, it became one of the largest country hous ...

. From this he was appointed as headmaster at Gordons Hospital in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

. The Duke also further organised for his being made minister of the parish of

Ellon Ellon may refer to: *Ellon, Aberdeenshire Ellon ( gd, Eilean) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotla ...

in 1832. In 1841 Robertson was the first person in Britain to use

bone meal Bone meal is a mixture of finely and coarsely ground animal bones and slaughter-house waste products. It is used as a dietary supplement to supply calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) to monogastric livestock in the form of hydroxiapathite. As a slow-r ...

as a fertilizer, this being done at Ellon (probably on the church

glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

). In 1843 Robertson was appointed to the Poor Law Commission and received an honorary doctorate (DD) from Aberdeen University and this enabled him to apply for a chair in Ecclesiastical History 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 ...

. During his professorship he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly for the period 1857–1858, being succeeded by Very Rev

Matthew Leishman Matthew Leishman (27 April 1794 – 8 August 1874) was a Scottish minister. He served as minister of Govan Old Parish Church for 53 years, during which he served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1858. Life He wa ...

. In 1846 he was elected a fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...

, his proposer being

Alexander Brunton Alexander Brunton FRSE FSA (2 October 1772 - 9 February 1854) was a Scottish minister in the Church of Scotland who rose to its highest rank, Moderator of the General Assembly in 1823. He was a noted academic, as Professor of Hebrew and Orie ...

. Robertson died at home, 25 Ainslie Place in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

's West End on 2 December 1860. He is buried in St Cuthbert's Churchyard off Princes Street. His biography was written by

Archibald Charteris Archibald Hamilton Charteris (13 December 1835 – 24 April 1908) was a Scottish theologian, a Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, professor of biblical criticism at the University of Edinburgh and a leading voice in Chu ...

Family

In 1837 Robertson married Ann Douglass (née Forbes) (1805–1890), widow of Prof Robert Douglass. He adopted her son, James Sholto Douglass (1823–1858).Grave of Rev James Robertson, St Cuthbert's

References

1803 births 1860 deaths People from Aberdeenshire Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Burials in Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub