James Scott (1733–1818) was a Scottish minister and antiquarian who founded the Literary and Antiquarian Society.

Life

Scott was born at Crowhill near Falnash the second son of Robert Scott of Falnash (d. 1734) and Violet Rutherford on 21 November 1733. He was educated at the High School 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 ...

then studied at

Edinburgh University 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 1582 ...

. He was licensed to preach as a

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 ...

minister by the Presbytery of

Jedburgh Jedburgh (; gd, Deadard; sco, Jeddart or ) is a town and former royal burgh in the Scottish Borders and the traditional county town of the historic county of Roxburghshire, the name of which was randomly chosen for Operation Jedburgh in su ...

in September 1758.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott In September 1759 he was ordained as minister of

Kinfauns Kinfauns was a large 1950s deluxe bungalow in Esher in the English county of Surrey, on the Claremont Estate. From 1964 to 1970, it was the home of George Harrison, lead guitarist of the Beatles. It was where many of the demo recordings for the ...

. In November 1762 he translated to "second charge" of

St John's Kirk St John's Kirk is a church in the Scottish city of Perth, Perth and Kinross. Of Church of Scotland denomination, it is located in St John's Place, just southeast of the city centre. It stands on the former site of a church dating to 1126. Today ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, under David Black (son of Thomas Black). Om Black's death in 1771 Scott was promoted to "first charge". In 1784 he founded the Literary and Antiquarian Society which wrote papers and lectured on various historical figures and events linked to Perth and Scotland. He translated several manuscripts from Latin into English. He retired on grounds of infirmity in December 1807 and his position was filled briefly by Patrick Slight before

Andrew Mitchell Thomson Andrew Mitchell Thomson (1779–1831) was a minister of the Church of Scotland, known as an evangelical activist and political reformer. Life The second son of the Rev. John Thomson, D.D., by his first wife, Helen Forrest, he was born in the ma ...

filled the role. Scott died in Perth on 27 April 1818. His collection of manuscripts passed to the Advocates Library in Edinburgh after his death. Some are held by the

National Library of Scotland The National Library of Scotland (NLS) ( gd, Leabharlann Nàiseanta na h-Alba, sco, Naitional Leebrar o Scotland) is the legal deposit library of Scotland and is one of the country's National Collections. As one of the largest libraries in the ...

Family

In August 1760 Scott married Beatrix Mercer (d.1806) daughter of Thomas Mercer of Pinhill. They had several children: *Robert (b. 1762), died in infancy *Thomas Scott (1763–1814) *Elizabeth (b. 1765) *Violet (1766–1770), died in childhood *Susanna (1767–1854) *James Scott (b. 1769), a merchant in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Publications

*''A History of the Lives of the Protestant Reformers in Scotland'' (1810) *''History ofr the Life and Death of John,

Earl of Gowrie Earl of Gowrie is a title that has been created twice, once in the Peerage of Scotland and once in the Peerage of the United Kingdom, both times for members of the Ruthven family. It takes its name from Gowrie, a historical region and ancient ...

'' (1818) *''Essays on Evangelical Subjects'' (1824, posthumously) *''Statistical Account of the Parish'' He contributed to two magazines: ''The Religious Monitor'' and ''Christian Instructor''.

Artistic recognition

His portrait by "Thomson" is held by Perth and Kinross Council.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, James 1733 births 1818 deaths Scottish antiquarians 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers