Walter Ross Taylor (1838–1907) was a Scottish minister of the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

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 t ...

in the critical year of Union in 1900. From 1900 he led the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...

with its Moderator Rev

Robert Rainy Robert Rainy (1 January 1826 – 22 December 1906), was a Scottish Presbyterian divine. Rainy Hall in New College, Edinburgh (the Divinity faculty in Edinburgh University) is named after him. Life He was born on New Year's Day 1826 at 28 Mo ...

Life

He was born on 11 April 1838 in the manse at Thurso, the son of Rev

Walter Ross Taylor Walter Ross Taylor (1805–1896) was a Scottish minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly 1884/85. Life He was born in Tain in northern Scotland on 11 November 1805 the son of the sheriff clerk ...

and his wife, Isabella Murray. He was educated at Thurso Free Church School. In 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 ...

his father left 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 ...

to join the Free Church, and they had to vacate the manse as a result. He went to

Edinburgh University 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 i ...

where he received the medal in Moral Philosophy and won the Stratton Scholarship for best third year student. He then trained as a Free church minister at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students ...

from 1857 to 1861. He was ordained at the Free Church of

East Kilbride East Kilbride (; gd, Cille Bhrìghde an Ear ) is the largest town in South Lanarkshire in Scotland and the country's sixth-largest locality by population. It was also designated Scotland's first new town on 6 May 1947. The area lies on a raise ...

in 1862 replacing Rev Oswald Dykes. The church was often referred to as the West Mains Church. He left East Kilbride in 1868 and was translated to

Kelvinside Kelvinside is a district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde and is bounded by Broomhill, Dowanhill and Hyndland to the south with Kelvindale and the River Kelvin to the north. It is an affluent area of Gla ...

Free Church on Great Western Road 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 pop ...

. In 1891 he received an honorary doctorate (DD) from

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 1890 to 1900 he was Convenor of the Sustentation Fund, pressing for a minimum stipend of 200 shillings per year for all ministers. As a strong organiser in May 1900 he was elected

with the principal duty of merging the Free Church with the

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland The United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the Un ...

. The critical Synod took place on 20 October 1900, creating the

. However, not all ministers and congregations of the Free Church joined the Union. Taylor remained in the same role and same building, thereafter becoming the United Free (UF) Church of Kelvinside. In the following years he served as Chairman and Vice President of the National Bible Society. He died at home, 1 Marchmont TerraceGlasgow Post Office Directory 1907 on 6 December 1907 following a protracted illness. He was buried in the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

on 9 December.

Family

In 1876 he married Margaret I. Paterson, daughter of Dr Joshua Paterson. They had three sons and two daughters, including Walter Ross-Taylor MP.

References

Citations

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Walter Ross 1838 births 1907 deaths People from Thurso 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland Burials at the Glasgow Necropolis 20th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland