Walter Ross Taylor (1838–1907) was a Scottish minister of the
Free Church of Scotland who served as
Moderator of the General Assembly in the critical year of Union in 1900. From 1900 he led the
United Free Church of Scotland with its Moderator Rev
Robert Rainy.
Life
He was born on 11 April 1838 in the manse at Thurso, the son of Rev
Walter Ross Taylor and his wife, Isabella Murray.
He was educated at Thurso Free Church School. In the
Disruption of 1843 his father left 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 ...
to join the Free Church, and they had to vacate the manse as a result. He went to
Edinburgh University 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 from 1857 to 1861.
He was ordained at the Free Church of
East Kilbride 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 Free Church on
Great Western Road in
Glasgow
Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...
. In 1891 he received an honorary doctorate (DD) from
Glasgow University.
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
Moderator of the General Assembly 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 U ...
. The critical Synod took place on 20 October 1900, creating the
United Free Church of Scotland. 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 Terrace
[Glasgow Post Office Directory 1907] on 6 December 1907 following a protracted illness. He was buried in the
Glasgow Necropolis 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
Walter Ross-Taylor (7 July 1877 – 12 July 1958) was a Scottish Conservative Party politician and civil servant.
Life
He was born in the manse at Thurso the son of the Rev Walter Ross Taylor (1838-1907), a prominent Free Church of Scotland ...
MP.
References
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Walter Ross
1838 births
1907 deaths
People from Thurso
19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland
19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers
Burials at the Glasgow Necropolis
20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland
20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers