John Gowdie (1682–1762) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

academic and

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. He was

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 ...

in 1733.

Life

He was born in

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 ...

the son of John Gowdie, a schoolteacher, and his wife Agnes Aberneathy. He was educated at his fathers school then attended

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 ...

where he graduated MA in 1700. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Jedburgh. From 1704 to 1730 he was minister of

Earlston Earlston ( sco, Yerlston; gd, Dùn Airchill) is a civil parish and market town in the county of Berwickshire, within the Scottish Borders. It is on the River Leader in Lauderdale, Scotland. Early history Earlston was originally called ''Arc ...

in the

Scottish Borders The Scottish Borders ( sco, the Mairches, 'the Marches'; gd, Crìochan na h-Alba) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the City of Edinburgh, Dumfries and Galloway, East Lothian, Midlothian, South Lanarkshire, West Lothi ...

. He was then minister of

Lady Yester's Kirk Lady Yester's Kirk was a parish church of the Church of Scotland and one of the burgh churches of Edinburgh. Founded in 1647, it served the south-eastern part of Edinburgh's Old Town until its union with Greyfriars Kirk in 1938. Margaret, Lady ...

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 ...

from 1730 to 1732 and then translated to the New (West) Kirk in Edinburgh, one of the four parishes within the subdivided St Giles in December 1732. In 1733, he was appointed

in succession to Rev Neil Campbell. Late in 1733 he left the New Kirk to take the role of Professor of Divinity at

. He was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

in 1759. He was the Principal of 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 ...

(in place of James Smith from 1754 until death in 1762. He died in

on 19 February 1762 and was buried in Greyfriars Churchyard.

Family

In 1706 he married Jean Deas (d.1736) with whom he had a son and a daughter. In 1743 he married Ann Ker (d.1764) and had one child. His daughter by Jean, Elizabeth Gowdie, married Rev John Hill of

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

and were parents to

John Hill John Hill may refer to: Business * John Henry Hill (1791–1882), American businessman, educator and missionary * John Hill (planter) (1824–1910), Scottish-born American industrialist and planter * John Hill (businessman) (1847–1926), Austral ...

. His son John Gowdie followed in his father's and grandfather's footsteps as minister of Earlston.

Notes

External links

Principals of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 1682 births 1762 deaths Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Academics of the University of Edinburgh People from Jedburgh Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub