James Wallace (1642–1688) was a Scottish minister in

Orkney Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and topographical writer.

Life

He studied 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 ...

, where he graduated M.A. on 27 April 1659. He was shortly afterwards appointed minister of Ladykirk in Orkney. From there he was translated to Kirkwall in 1672. On 16 October 1678 he was also collated by Bishop Mackenzie to the prebend of St. John in St Magnus Cathedral. Wallace died of fever in September 1688.

Works

Wallace is known for his work ''A Description of the Isles of Orkney'' (1693),‘A Description of the Isles of Orkney. By Master James Wallace, late Minister of Kirkwall. Published after his Death by his Son. To which is added, An Essay concerning the Thule of the Ancients, by Sir Robert Sibbald,’ Edinburgh, 1693. dedicated to

Sir Robert Sibbald Sir Robert Sibbald (15 April 1641 – August 1722) was a Scottish physician and antiquary. Life He was born in Edinburgh, the son of David Sibbald (brother of Sir James Sibbald) and Margaret Boyd (January 1606 – 10 July 1672). Educated at t ...

. Wallace had originally undertaken his ‘Description’ at the request of Sibbald, who was planning a general atlas of Scotland. ‘An Account from Orkney,’ by James Wallace, was sent to Sibbald, who was collecting statistical information regarding the counties of Scotland. In 1700 Wallace's botanist son

James James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

published under his own name ‘An Account of the Islands of Orkney,’ (London,

Jacob Tonson Jacob Tonson, sometimes referred to as Jacob Tonson the Elder (1655–1736), was an eighteenth-century English bookseller and publisher. Tonson published editions of John Dryden and John Milton, and is best known for having obtained a copyright ...

). This work, which makes no mention of his father's works, consists of the ‘Description’ of 1693, with some omissions and additions, but including a chapter on the plants and shells of Orkney. The younger Wallace substituted a dedication from himself to

Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset Charles Sackville, 6th Earl of Dorset and 1st Earl of Middlesex, KG (24 January 164329 January 1706) was an English poet and courtier. Early life Sackville was born on 24 January 1643, son of Richard Sackville, 5th Earl of Dorset (1622–1677) ...

. The original work, with illustrative notes, edited by John Small, was reprinted at Edinburgh in 1883. Wallace left in manuscript, besides sermons and miscellaneous pieces, “A Harmony of the Evangelists,” “Commonplaces,” a treatise of the ancient and modern church discipline, and anti-Catholic writings.

Family

He married Elizabeth Cuthbert, and had three sons, James, Andrew, Alexander, and a daughter Jean.

References

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Wallace, James 1642 births 1688 deaths 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Scottish topographers People associated with Orkney History of Orkney