Robert Patoun AM (1690–1768) was an 18th-century

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 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 ...

in 1750.

Life

He was born in 1690 the son of Rev Robert Patoun of St Michael's Church in

Dumfries Dumfries ( ; sco, Dumfries; from gd, Dùn Phris ) is a market town and former royal burgh within the Dumfries and Galloway council area of Scotland. It is located near the mouth of the River Nith into the Solway Firth about by road from the ...

and his third wife Barbara Fingass. He studied at the

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

and graduated MA in May 1710. Only in 1721 was he licensed to preach by the Presbytery of

Dunbar Dunbar () is a town on the North Sea coast in East Lothian in the south-east of Scotland, approximately east of Edinburgh and from the English border north of Berwick-upon-Tweed. Dunbar is a former royal burgh, and gave its name to an ecc ...

. It was normal practice at this time for such men to teach as private tutors while they awaited a position. Given the licensing body it is logical to presume he was tutoring o an

East Lothian East Lothian (; sco, East Lowden; gd, Lodainn an Ear) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In 1975, the histo ...

family. His first position was ordination as "second charge" of the huge St Mary's Church in Haddington under Rev Patrick Wilkie in "first charge" in January 1722. In September 1730 he was presented to the congregation at

Renfrew Renfrew (; sco, Renfrew; gd, Rinn Friù) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former ...

under patronage of King George II. He was formally translated to this new role in January 1731. In 1750 he succeeded Rev

Patrick Cumin Patrick Cumin or Cuming (1695–1776) was a senior clergyman in the Church of Scotland. He was three times Moderator of the General Assembly. Life He was born in 1695 the eldest son of Robert Cumin of Relugas near Forres, Morayshire. He stu ...

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 ...

the highest position in the Scottish church. During his year in this role he worked on the augmentation of minister's stipends and his success in this led to a strong thanks in 1752. He died in Renfrew on 1 April 1758.

Family

In 1722 he married Cecilia Hamilton daughter of Rev Archibald Hamilton of

Cambuslang Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...

. They had one son and one daughter: *William Patoun, librarian of

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 , ...

from 1747 to 1750 *Janet (b.1732)

Publications

*The Main Duty of Bishops (1739)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Patoun, Robert 1690 births 1758 deaths People from Dumfries Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland