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John Roxburgh (1806–1880) was a Scottish minister of 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 ...

and later of the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

. He served as the latter denomination's Moderator of the General Assembly in 1866 or 1867.

Life

He was born on 8 March 1806 the son of Archibald Roxburgh (1773–1823), a

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 ...

shipping merchant, and his wife, Elizabeth Clark (1777–1813). In 1820 he was living with his father at 21 Charlotte Street in Glasgow, his mother having died. He studied Divinity at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

, graduating with an M.A. in 1828 and was licensed to preach by the Glasgow Presbytery of the

in 1831. He then did mission work in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

before returning to do mission work in St David's Parish in Glasgow then in Barony parish. He was ordained at St John's Church in Dundee in 1834. In 1836, due to great expansion, his parish was split to create a new quoad sacra church called St Peters. He left the established church in the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...

and joined the Free Church of Scotland, as minister of Free St John's, Dundee, 1843-1847. In 1847 he moved to the newly completed St John's Free Church near

George Square, Glasgow George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is the principal civic square in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is one of six squares in the city centre, the others being Cathedral Square, St Andrew's Square, St Enoch Square, Royal Exchange Sq ...

, designed by

John Thomas Rochead John Thomas Rochead (28 March 1814 – 7 April 1878) was a Scottish people, Scottish architect. He is most noteworthy on a national scale for having been the designer of the Wallace Monument. Life He was born in Edinburgh, the son of John Ro ...

. He was admitted to Free St John's, Glasgow, 18 May 1847. In 1849 he received an honorary doctorate (DD) on 1 May 1849 from Glasgow University. In 1850 he was living at 6 Provanside in central Glasgow. From 1857 to 1863 he was Convenor of the Home Missions Committee for the Free Church. From 1866 he was assisted at St John's Free by Rev Alexander Whyte. In 1866 he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly (Scott says 23 May 1867). He lived his final years at 122 Hill Street, a fine Georgian villa in the

Garnethill Garnethill is a predominantly residential area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland with a number of important public buildings. Geography Located in the city centre, the area borders Cowcaddens to its north, Sauchiehall Street to its south, Cambri ...

district of Glasgow. He died at his son's house in

Weston-super-Mare Weston-super-Mare, also known simply as Weston, is a seaside town in North Somerset, England. It lies by the Bristol Channel south-west of Bristol between Worlebury Hill and Bleadon Hill. It includes the suburbs of Mead Vale, Milton, Oldmixon ...

on 2 November 1880. St John's Free Church was demolished in 1971.

Bibliography

*Cruelty to Animals, a sermon *The Nature and Design of God's Judgments, a discourse (Glasgow, 1832) *The Glory of the Latter House, a discourse (Dundee, 1843) *Sermon III. (Free Church Pulpit, i.). *Alexander Balfour, a Liverpool Philanthropist *Ernest Roxburgh Balfour (Edinburgh, n.d.) *Memorials of John Roxburgh, D.D. y George G. Cameron (Glasgow, 1881) *Memorial Addresses at Dawyck and Drumelzier (1923).

Family

On 7 June 1836 he married his cousin, Catherine

Grey Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be composed o ...

(1811-1899), daughter of George Gray of Yeaman Shore, Dundee,

Esq. Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman a ...

(1750-1835) and his wife, Catherine Balfour of Kilmany (1773-1833). They had at least ten children but only six lived to adulthood: * Catherine Balfour, born 6 March 1837 (married Francis Sharman, wine merchant), died 25 March 1908 * Elizabeth, born 28 January 1839, died 29 July 1896 * Archibald, merchant, Liverpool, born 6 August 1841, died February 1906 * George Gray, born 5 May 1842, died in infancy * Janet of Dawyck, born 24 February 1844 (married 23 March 1864, Alexander Balfour, merchant, Liverpool), died 22 February 1923 * Jane Anne, born 7 January 1846 (married 1872, James Mellis, minister of Presbyterian Church of England), Southport * John, engineer, born 14 October 1847, died December 1871 * Margaret Campbell, born 23 May 1849, died 1857 * Helen Jobson, born 5 January 1851 (married Frederick Gourlay, M.D.), died 1879 * Robert, M.D., born 25 April 1853, died 16th Feb. 1917. Roxburgh was also the great-uncle of writer,

Catherine Carswell Catherine Roxburgh Carswell (née Macfarlane; 27 March 1879 – 18 February 1946) was a Scottish author, biographer and journalist, now known as one of the few women to take part in the Scottish Renaissance. Her biography of the Scottish poet Ro ...

(nee Catherine Roxburgh Macfarlane, born 27 March 1879), whom he christened.

Artistic recognition

He was photographed by

Hill & Adamson Hill & Adamson was the first photography studio in Scotland, set up by painter David Octavius Hill and engineer Robert Adamson in 1843. During their brief partnership that ended with Adamson's untimely death, Hill & Adamson produced "the first s ...

in 1844.

References

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roxburgh, John 1806 births 1880 deaths Clergy from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland