William McQuhae or M'Quhae (1737–1823) was a senior Scottish clergyman in 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 ...

who by the time of his death was Father of the Church. He is one of the few persons to have declined the offer to be

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 ...

. He was a member of the

New Light The terms Old Lights and New Lights (among others) are used in Protestant Christian circles to distinguish between two groups who were initially the same, but have come to a disagreement. These terms originated in the early 18th century from a spl ...

Movement. He is mentioned within the poems of

Robert Burns Robert Burns (25 January 175921 July 1796), also known familiarly as Rabbie Burns, was a Scottish poet and lyricist. He is widely regarded as the national poet of Scotland and is celebrated worldwide. He is the best known of the poets who hav ...

Life

He was born in

Wigtown Wigtown ( (both used locally); gd, Baile na h-Ùige) is a town and former royal burgh in Wigtownshire, of which it is the county town, within the Dumfries and Galloway region in Scotland. It lies east of Stranraer and south of Newton Stewart. ...

on 1 May 1737 the son of David McQuhae, a local magistrate and his wife Margaret Laurie. In his youth 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 ...

he was tutor to David Boswell and John Boswell, the younger brothers of

James Boswell James Boswell, 9th Laird of Auchinleck (; 29 October 1740 ( N.S.) – 19 May 1795), was a Scottish biographer, diarist, and lawyer, born in Edinburgh. He is best known for his biography of his friend and older contemporary the English writer ...

who was a close friend to McQuhae. He studied at the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and was licensed by the Presbytery of Wigtown to preach as a Church of Scotland minister on 24 March 1762. He served as assistant in St Quivox to

George Reid Sir George Houston Reid, (25 February 1845 – 12 September 1918) was an Australian politician who led the Reid Government as the fourth Prime Minister of Australia from 1904 to 1905, having previously been Premier of New South Wales fr ...

. On Reid's death in 1763 McQuhae was presented as the new minister of St Quivox by James Murray of Broughton. He was formally ordained in the position on 1 March 1764.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 3; by Hew Scott In June 1794

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

awarded him a Doctor of Divinity. In 1806 he declined the position of

and the post was instead given to Rev William Taylor of St Enoch's Church 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 ...

. He died as Father of the Church on 1 March 1823, on the 59th anniversary of his ordination.

Family

He married twice: firstly in November 1765 to Elizabeth Park daughter of William Park of Barkip. They had several children, most of whom died young: Richard McQuhae (1766–1805) died in

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

; Sarah (1769–1778); Margaret (1770–1836); David (1773–1775); Elizabeth (1774–1778); Glencairn (daughter) (1776–1802); Charles (daughter) (1778–1855) married Alexander McDowal. Following his wife's death he married Mary Lawrie (died 1824) in June 1782. They had several more children: Mary (born 1783) married John Stirling, minister of Craigie, Elizabeth (born 1784); Lydia Wills McQuhae (born 1785) married Thomas Ainsworth of

Blackburn Blackburn () is an industrial town and the administrative centre of the Blackburn with Darwen borough in Lancashire, England. The town is north of the West Pennine Moors on the southern edge of the Ribble Valley, east of Preston and north-n ...

; William McQuhae (1787–1824) a Major in the

British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...

died in

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

;The Bengal Obituary 1851 Patrick (born 1788); James (1790–1819); Stair Park McQuhae (1795–1872) succeeded his father as minister of St Quivox; Laura Macrae McQuhae (1798–1802). The family continued to live in the manse after William's death (with his son as minister) and it was extended to 1825 to accommodate the large family.

Publications

*The Difficulties Which Surround the Practice of Religion (1785) *Statistical Account of the Parish

Trivia

In the heart of "Burns Country" during Burns' lifetime, McQuhae is referred to in

' poem "The Twa Herds" aka "The Holy Tulzie".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McQuhae, William 1737 births 1823 deaths People from Wigtown 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland People from St Quivox