Rev-dr-william-king-tweedie-1803-1863-of-the-tolbo

Rev William King Tweedie, low relief on his grave

William King Tweedie (1803–1863) was an historian, biographer and a minister of the Free Church of Scotland Tolbooth Church, Edinburgh.

Life

Former Tolbooth Church, Castlehill, Edinburgh

The grave of Rev William King Tweedie, Grange Cemetery

He was born in

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire Subdivisions of Scotland, council area and the historic Shires of Scotlan ...

on 8 May 1803, the eldest son of John Tweedie and Janet King. His parents moved to

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

in South America while William was young and he was left in the care of an aunt in

Maybole Maybole is a town and former burgh of barony and police burgh in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It had an estimated population of in . It is situated south of Ayr and southwest of Glasgow by the Glasgow and South Western Railway. The town is bypass ...

. He never saw his parents again, and was effectively abandoned. He studied Divinity at

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 ...

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

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

. He was licensed to preach as a minister of 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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

by the Presbytery of Arbroath in 1828. He was ordained as minister of the Scots Church at

London Wall The London Wall was a defensive wall first built by the Romans around the strategically important port town of Londinium in AD 200, and is now the name of a modern street in the City of London. It has origins as an initial mound wall and ...

in 1832. In 1836 he was translated to

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 ...

South Parish and in March 1842 to the Tolbooth Church on the Royal Mile in

in place of Rev

Thomas Randall Davidson Thomas Randall Davidson (1747–1827) was a Church of Scotland minister and landowner. Life 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 ...

, but as first minister of the recently completed masterpiece by

James Gillespie Graham James Gillespie Graham (11 June 1776 – 11 March 1855) was a Scottish architect, prominent in the early 19th century. Life Graham was born in Dunblane on 11 June 1776. He was the son of Malcolm Gillespie, a solicitor. He was christened as J ...

and Pugin. He left the established church 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 ...

and was thereafter a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. Leaving with a large portion of the Tolbooth parish congregation they purchased the pre-existing Secession Church on Infirmary Street. He lived at 50

George Square, Edinburgh George Square ( gd, Ceàrnag Sheòrais) is a city square in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is in the south of the city centre, adjacent to the Meadows. It was laid out in 1766 outside the overcrowded Old Town, and was a popular residential area for E ...

. From 1848 to 1862 he was Convenor of the Foreign Mission Committee of the Free Church. He was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity by

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

in 1852. He moved to 3 Fingal Place in the Grange around 1845 but returned to George Square in later life. The church sold the Infirmary Street church in 1851 and used temporary accommodation until a new church was built circa 1855: a very modest hall on the rear garden of an unfinished Georgian house on the north side of St Andrew Square. He died at 15

on 24 March 1863. He is buried in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...

in south Edinburgh. The grave lies on the outer north wall.

Family

On 11 May 1835 he married Margaret Bell (1803-3 March 1885) in London. She was daughter of Hugh Bell, of Old Garphar,

Straiton Straiton is a village on the River Girvan in South Ayrshire in Scotland, mainly built in the 18th century, but with some recent housing. It was the main location for the film '' The Match,'' where two rival pubs played against each other in a ...

, Ayrshire, and had five children. Their children included: * Major General William Tweedie of Lettrick (31 October 1836 - 18 September 1914) who was involved in the in India. Major-General, C.S.I., served in Indian Mutiny

Sepoy mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the for ...

, held numerous military and political appointments in India, Political Resident in Turkish Arabia, and H.M. Consul-General at Baghdad. * John Tweedie (1838-1897) of the

Bengal Bengal ( ; bn, বাংলা/বঙ্গ, translit=Bānglā/Bôngô, ) is a geopolitical, cultural and historical region in South Asia, specifically in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal, predom ...

Civil Service born 30 July 1838 - died 3 May 1897 * Maria Meredith Tweedie (born 20 May 1841) * Margaret Bell Tweedie (4 November 1843) * Jessie Ann Tweedie (born 17 September 1845)

Publications

*''Life of Rev John MacDonald, India'' *''Calvin and Servetus'' *''Lights and Shadows of the Life of Faith'' *''Jerusalem and its Environs'' *''Ruined Cities of the East'' *''Fifteen Years of Foreign Missions'' *''The Life and Work of Earnest Men'' *''The Sacrament of Baptism'' *''Seed Time and Harvest: or Sow Well and Reap Well. A Book for the Young. Preface by H. L. Hastings'' *''Home: A Book for the Family'' *''Pathways of Many Pilgrims; or, Lights and Shadows in the Christian Life'' *''Glad Tidings; or the Gospel of Peace. A series of meditations for Christian Disciples. Preface by H. L. Hastings'' *''A Lamp to the Path: or the Word of God in the Heart, the Home, the Workshop and the Market-place. Introduction by H. L. Hastings'' *''Of the Free Tolbooth Church, Edinburgh''

References

Citations

Sources

* * * * * * * * *

External links

Collections in The National Archives
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tweedie, William King 1803 births 1863 deaths 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland Scottish religious writers Scottish biographers 19th-century Scottish historians Burials at the Grange Cemetery 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland