Thomas Randall Davidson (1747–1827) 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 and landowner.

Life

The Secessionist Church, Infirmary Street, Edinburgh

He was born Thomas Randall in July 1747, the son of Rev Thomas Randall (b.1710), minister of Inchture west of Dundee. Early education was at least in part at a college 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 ...

. His family had strong Dutch connections and he studied at the

University of Leyden Leiden University (abbreviated as ''LEI''; nl, Universiteit Leiden) is a public research university in Leiden, Netherlands. The university was founded as a Protestant university in 1575 by William, Prince of Orange, as a reward to the city of Le ...

. He was licensed to preach as a Presbyterian minister by the authorities in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Rotte'') is the second largest city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is in the province of South Holland, part of the North Sea mouth of the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta, via the ''"Ne ...

in June 1769. He preached a little in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

. In 1771 he returned to his home town of Inchture to replace his father as parish minister of Inchture, his father having translated to

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

. In 1773 he translated to the "Outer High" Church in

. In November 1778 he translated to Lady Yester's Church 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 ...

in place of Rev James MacKnight. In 1785 he succeeded Rev Alexander Webster as minister of Tolbooth Parish: one of the four parishes contained within St Giles Cathedral. His writings began attracting international attention and

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

in the USA awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity in 1793. In 1794, on the death of his maternal uncle, William Davidson, who had died without an heir, Thomas inherited the mansion and estate of

Muirhouse Muirhouse is a housing estate in the north of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Location The housing estate of Muirhouse (Pennywell and Muirhouse) is bounded by Muirhouse Parkway to the North, Pennywell Road to the East, Ferry Road to the So ...

just north of Edinburgh, and viewing over the Firth of Forth. Apart from this "country house" he also had a town house at 87 Princes Street, a newly finished house in Edinburgh's First New Town. Over and above his Muirhouse estate he owned the estate of Old Barony in Hatton and a fine Edinburgh townhouse at 8

Heriot Row Heriot Row is a highly prestigious street in central Edinburgh, virtually unchanged since its original construction in 1802. From its inception to the present day in remained a top address in the city and has housed the rich and famous of the cit ...

. The author

Henry Mackenzie Henry Mackenzie FRSE (August 1745 – 14 January 1831, born and died in Edinburgh) was a Scottish lawyer, novelist and writer sometimes seen as the Addison of the North. While remembered mostly as an author, his main income came from legal rol ...

was a close neighbour. He died at Muirhouse on 25 October 1827. His funeral service in St Giles was overseen by Rev George Muirhead. He was buried on 28 October. He was the final minister of Tolbooth parish as contained in St Giles and after his death it moved to a purpose built Tolbooth Church on Castlehill to the west.

Family

In January 1772 he married Christian Rutherford (d.1797) daughter of John Rutherford of

Edgerston Edgerston is a village and an estate about north of the Anglo-Scottish border, and south of Jedburgh in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland in the former Roxburghshire. According to the Clan Rutherfurd family history site, Edgerston was p ...

. Their children included: *Sarah Randall (d.1773) *Mary Randall (d.1776) *William Randall (1783-1865) later known as William Davidson of Muirhouse Following Christian's death in 1797, in August 1798 he married Elizabeth Cockburn (1770-1850), daughter of

Archibald Cockburn Archibald Cockburn (1738 in Edinburgh, Midlothian – 20 June 1820) was a Scottish judge. He lived at Caroline Park House north of Edinburgh. Family Son of Archibald Cockburn of Cockpen and wife (m. 17 August 1735) Martha Dundas, daughter ...

, Baron of the Exchequer, and sister of

Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn Henry Thomas Cockburn of Bonaly, Lord Cockburn ( ; Cockpen, Midlothian, 26 October 1779 – Bonaly, Midlothian, 26 April/18 July 1854) was a Scottish lawyer, judge and literary figure. He served as Solicitor General for Scotland between 1830 a ...

. She was 23 years his junior. Their children included: *Jane Davidson (b.1800) *Elizabeth Davidson (b.1802) *Thomas (1803-1811) *Archibald Davidson (1805-1886) Sheriff of Lothian *David Davidson (b.1808) *Henry Davidson (b.1811) father of Randall Davidson the Archbishop of Canterbury

Publications

*A Sketch of the Character of Dr John Erskine (1803)

References

Citations

Sources

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davidson, Thomas Randall 1747 births 1827 deaths Leiden University alumni Ministers of St Giles' Cathedral Scottish landowners