St Machar's cathedral with watch house - geograph

The grave of Rev Patrick Forbes, St Machar's Cathedral

Patrick Forbes (1776–1847) was a Scottish minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

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 ...

for the period 1829 to 1830. He was Professor of Humanities and Chemistry 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 ...

Life

He was born 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 ...

on 17 June 1776 the son of Rev Francis Forbes of Camphill, and his first wife, Isabella Copland. He was elder half-brother to Sir Francis William Forbes, Chief Justice of Newfoundland. He studied at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

in Aberdeen graduating MA in 1793. In 1793/4 he was schoolmaster of Grange. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Strathbogie in 1797. He was minister of

Boharm Boharm is a rural parish in the Speyside area of north Scotland, midway between Aberlour and Fochabers, and north of Dufftown. It lies on minor roads to either side of the A95. The main settlements in the parish are Maggieknockater and Mulben. ...

from 1800 to 1816 but moved to

Old Machar Old or OLD may refer to: Places * Old, Baranya, Hungary * Old, Northamptonshire, England *Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

where he remained for most of his adult life, and from 1816 he was also professor of both Humanity and Chemistry at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

, replacing Prof Ogilvie. In 1828 he succeeded

Stevenson McGill Stevenson McGill (1765-1840) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1828. He was an author and was elected to be a professor of divinity at Glasgow Univers ...

, the highest position within the

. He died in

on 13 October 1847 and is buried in the churchyard of St Machar's Cathedral.

Family

He was married twice. In 1800 he married Helen Copland, thought to be a cousin, she died in 1816 and in 1821 he married Mary Glennie (1800-1879). He had two children by his first marriage and a further eleven by the second. At least two of his sons became ministers: John Forbes (1802-1899) in Aberdeen, and James Beattie Forbes (1838-1884) minister of Leslie in

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

. John served as Professor of Oriental Languages at

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

and is buried next to his father.Grave of Rev Prof John Forbes, St Machar's Cathedral

Gallery

File:Cathedral Church of St. Machar, Old Aberdeen.jpg, The interior of Old Machar Church in Aberdeen

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Patrick 1776 births 1847 deaths Clergy from Aberdeen Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Aberdeen Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland