James Grierson (2 July 1791–22 January 1875) was a Scottish minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

to the

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

in 1854/55.

Early life

He was born in

Ruthwell Ruthwell is a village and parish on the Solway Firth between Dumfries and Annan, Dumfries and Galloway, Annan in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. In 2022 the combined population of Ruthwell and nearby Clarencefield was 400. Thomas Randolph, Earl ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...

on 2 July 1791. He studied divinity at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He was licensed by Presbytery of Stirling on 22 September 1816. He subsequently became tutor to Sir David Kinloch of Gilmerton, Bart. He was presented by John Lee Allen of Errol, 15 January, and ordained on 12 August 1819. In 1816 he was licensed to preach and began his ministry in

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

as a minister for the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. In 1819 he moved to Errol and remained minister of the established church there until 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 Sc ...

Post Disruption

In 1843 he (and the bulk of the congregation) established the Free Church of Scotland in Errol. He remained in this role until his death in 1875. He was elected as Moderator of Free Church General Assembly on 18 May 1854. He was awarded a doctorate D.D. from Edinburgh University on 25 March 1854. He died on 22 January 1875 and is buried near his parents in

churchyard.

Publications

*A Doctrinal and Practical Treatise on the Lord's Supper *Believers reminded of the Increasing Nearness of their Salvation (Edinburgh, 1833) *Nicodemus, A Treatise on the Lord's Supper (Edinburgh, 1839) *Voices from the Cross (Edinburgh, 1855) *Heaven upon Earth, or Interviews with the Risen Saviour (Edinburgh, 1856) *The Divine Supplicant and Intercessor (Edinburgh, 1867) *Sermon LXIL, Lecture XXII. (Free Church Pulpit, ii., iii.).

Bibliography

*The Lyons of Cossins, 73 *Annals of the Disruption *The Evangel in Gowrie, 363.

Artistic recognition

The-moderator-and-ex-moderators-of-the-free-church

He was photographed 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 ...

in 1855. He was photographed in 1860 at the foot of the steps to New College with several other ex-Moderators of the Free Church.

Family

In 1822 he married Margaret Moncrieff (died 8 April 1875), daughter of Dr George Moncrieff of

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, and granddaughter of Rev George Lyon of

Longforgan Longforgan is a village and parish in the Carse of Gowrie, in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It lies west of Dundee on the main A90 road. History A record survives of Sir Patrick Gray, as Baron of Longforgan, holding a baronial court here in 138 ...

and had issue: *Jessy Moncrieff, born 21 December 1822 *Elizabeth Ann, born 9 October 1825 (married John Chalmers, M.D.), died 24 November 1891 *David James, born 29 June 1827, died 11 July 1829 *George Moncrieff, merchant, Glasgow, born 7 May 1829, died 4 February 1896 *Margaret Jane Jemima, born 21 February 1831, died 21 March 1891 *James Kinloch, born 24 February, and died 30 March 1834 *James Lyon Maxwell, born 20 November 1835.

References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Grierson, James 1791 births 1875 deaths Clergy from Dumfries and Galloway 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh