Thomas Blackwell (1660–1728) was a

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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

minister who was principal of

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- ...

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 ...

from 1717 to 1728.

Life

He was born in 1660 the son of Thomas Blackwell calenderer in

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 ...

and his wife, Janet Knox. He was educated 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 , ...

training as a minister. He was licensed to preach as a

minister by the Presbytery of Glasgow in February 1693. He was ordained at Paisley Abbey in August 1694. In November 1700 he translated to "second charge" of the

Kirk of St Nicholas The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the ''"Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting"''. It is also known as ''"The Mit ...

. In May 1711 he moved to first charge of

Greyfriars Church, Aberdeen Greyfriars Church is a Category A Listed building in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was designed by the architect Alexander Marshall Mackenzie and built in 1903. It is situated on Broad Street and forms the south-east corner of Marischal College, also d ...

. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity (DD) and adopted a second role as Professor of Divinity at Marischal College in the same year. From 1714 to 1728 he was Patron of the

Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen Seven Incorporated Trades of Aberdeen is an ancient society of craftsmen in Aberdeen, Scotland. Their home is Trinity Hall on the city's Holburn Street. Composition The society comprises seven trades: * Hammermen (1519) * Bakers (1398) * Wrig ...

. In 1717 he succeeded Robert Paterson as principal of Marischal College. A senior figure in the

, he travelled to

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

with

William Carstares William Carstares (also Carstaires) (11 February 164928 December 1715) was a minister of the Church of Scotland, active in Whig politics. Early life Carstares was born at Cathcart, near Glasgow, Scotland, the son of the Rev. John Carstares, a ...

of Edinburgh University to discuss the Patronage and Toleration Act in the run up to the Act of Union 1707. This led to the

Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 The Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 or Patronage Act is an Act of the Parliament of Great Britain (10 Ann. C A P. XII). The long title of the act is ''An Act to restore the Patrons to their ancient Rights of presenting Ministers to the Chu ...

. He died on 3 October 1728. He is buried in the churchyard of the

in central Aberdeen.

Family

He married Christian Johnston (d.1749) daughter of John Johnston of Glasgow. Their children included: * Thomas Blackwell (also a future principal of Marischal College) * George Blackwell, minister of

Bathgate Bathgate ( sco, Bathket or , gd, Both Chèit) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland, west of Livingston, Scotland, Livingston and adjacent to the M8 motorway (Scotland), M8 motorway. Nearby towns are Armadale, West Lothian, Armadale, Blackburn, ...

* Alexander Blackwell tortured and beheaded in Sweden in 1747 * Janet, married George Fordyce, Provost of Aberdeen parents to Sir William Fordyce, David Fordyce,

James Fordyce James Fordyce, Doctor of Divinity, DD (1720–1 October 1796), was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and poet. He is best known for his collection of sermons published in 1766 as ''Sermons for Young Women'', popularly known as ''Fordyce's Sermon ...

and

Alexander Fordyce Alexander Fordyce (7 August 1729-8 September 1789) was an eminent Scottish banker, centrally involved in the bank run on Neale, James, Fordyce and Downe which led to the credit crisis of 1772. He used the profits from other investments to c ...

* Christian Blackwell (d.1784), married John French, advocate in Aberdeen

Publications

*''Ratio Sacra'' (1710) *''Schema Sacra'' (1710) *''Methodus Evangelica'' (1712) *''Representation against the Bill for Restoring Patronages'' (1712)

Artistic recognition

His portrait (artist unknown) is held by the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blackwell, Thomas 1660 births 1728 deaths People from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Academics of the University of Aberdeen 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland