Thomas Jackson Crawford (1812–1875) was a Scottish minister and professor of divinity at 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 ...

. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1867, the highest level within the Scottish church. He wrote extensively on religious matters and was vocal in his adherence to the established

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 ...

both during and following 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 ...

Life

Thomas Jackson Craword's grave, Dean Cemetery

He was born in St Andrews in Fife in 1812 the son of Agnes McDermeit and the Rev Prof William Crawford DD (died 1822), Professor of Moral Philosophy at United College at the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. Thomas was educated at the High School in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

and then returned to St Andrews to study divinity at the University, graduating with MA in 1831. In 1834 he became minister in

Cults In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This s ...

and in 1838 transferred to

Glamis Glamis is a small village in Angus, Scotland, located south of Kirriemuir and southwest of Forfar. It is the location of Glamis Castle, the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. History The vicinity of Glamis has prehistoric ...

to the west. In 1844 he moved to

as "second charge" minister of St Andrews Church on George Street, firstly under Rev Thomas Clark then under Rev John Stuart. During the

within the church, he was a strong advocate and campaigner of remaining within the established

. In 1859, over and above his ministering duties, he was made professor of divinity at the University of Edinburgh and continued in this role until 1875. At this time he was living at 13 Great King Street, a large Georgian townhouse in Edinburgh’s Second New Town. In 1861 he was made Chaplain in Ordinary to

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

. In 1867 his eminence led to him being elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, succeeding Very Rev John Cook. He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh in 1871, his proposer being

John Hutton Balfour John Hutton Balfour (15 September 1808 – 11 February 1884) was a Scottish botanist. Balfour became a Professor of Botany, first at the University of Glasgow in 1841, moving to the University of Edinburgh and also becoming the 7th Regius Kee ...

. He died in

Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

on 11 October 1875. His body was returned to Edinburgh, where he was buried in Dean Cemetery on 12 January 1876 next to his wife, Mary Rankin (1830–1853) who had died young. The grave lies on the north wall of the original cemetery.

Publications

*''Reasons of Adherence to the Church of Scotland'' (1843) *''An Argument for Jewish Missionaries'' (1847) *''Presbyterianism Defended Against the Exclusive Claims of Prelacy'' (1853) *''Presbytery or Prelacy'' (1867) *''The Fatherhood of God'' (1867) *''The Doctrine of Holy Scripture, Respecting the Atonement'' (1871) *''The Mysteries of Christianity'' (1874)

Family

He married twice: firstly to Mary Rankine (1830-1853) daughter of Robert Rankine, a

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

merchant, who died aged only 23; secondly to Elizabeth Robertson, daughter of William Robertson of

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He had two sons by the second marriage: William Thomas Crawford MD (d.1925) and George William Crawford.

Artistic Recognition

His marble bust, by

William Brodie William Brodie (28 September 1741 – 1 October 1788), often known by his title of Deacon Brodie, was a Scottish cabinet-maker, deacon of a trades guild, and Edinburgh city councillor, who maintained a secret life as a housebreaker, partly fo ...

is within the

Art Collection. An early photographic negative (1843) 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 ...

is held by the

Scottish National Portrait Gallery The Scottish National Portrait Gallery is an art museum on Queen Street, Edinburgh. The gallery holds the national collections of portraits, all of which are of, but not necessarily by, Scots. It also holds the Scottish National Photography Co ...

References

*''Dictionary of National Biography'':Thomas Jackson Crawford {{DEFAULTSORT:Crawford, Thomas Jackson 1812 births 1875 deaths Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians 19th-century Scottish writers Academics of the University of Edinburgh People from St Andrews Alumni of the University of St Andrews Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland