James Crawford (17 December 1808-17 November 1863) was a Scottish lawyer and church elder from Edinburgh. After the Disruption of 1843 he sided with the Free Church and was elected Deputy Clerk of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland - a post he held for 20 years. He was also involved in local government and publishing. He served on several Free Church committees and was photographed in this role by Hill & Adamson.
James Crawfurd | |
|---|---|
 Free Church committee by Hill & Adamson | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 17 December 1808 |
| Died | 17 November 1863 |
| Writer to the Signet | |
| Session Clerk, St Andrews Free | |
| Town Clerk for North Berwick | |
| Free Church Deputy Clerk of Assembly | |
Early life and training edit
James Crawford was born in North Berwick, on 17 December 1808. He was the son of Alexander Crawford, a tenant farmer in Rhodes, near North Berwick. Part of his education he received in that town, and part in Edinburgh. In Edinburgh studied law, and entered the office of Walter Dickson, Esq., W.S.[2] He was apprentice to Walter Dickson and James Steuart.[3]
He became a Writer to the Signet on 27 June 1833.[3]
Work in the Church of Scotland edit
In 1831 he was one of a small band who planned the Presbyterian Review — a periodical, literary, ecclesiastical, and theological in its character, which in after years exercised no small influence upon the affairs of the Church of Scotland.[2]
Having all along taken an interest in ecclesiastical affairs, and being well versed in Church law, he assisted in editing the “Book of Styles,” published under the superintendence of the Church Law Society, of which he was a lay member. He was one of a small committee of that society to whom were entrusted in 1842 the editing of the Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. The volume was published in the following year, with a brief preface by the Rev. Thomas Pitcairn, dated just three days before the Disruption, 15 May 1843.[2]
At the Disruption edit
James Crawford was the session clerk of the St Andrews Free Church congregation. He lived at 23 Elder Street in Edinburgh.[4]
James's father Alexander started Free Church services in a granary in North Berwick on Forth Street.[5] Soon after the Disruption of 1843, James Crawford W.S., conceived the idea of building a Free Church in North Berwick, in commemoration of the Martyrs of the Bass, because, as he believed, the principles for which the Martyrs suffered were the same as those for which the Free Church had seceded. This was the object set forth on the collecting cards circulated among his friends, which bore the picture of the Bass. And it was to raise funds for this purpose that he persuaded his friends Thomas M'Crie the Historian, Anderson the Martyrologist, Hugh Miller the Geologist, and Professors Fleming and Balfour to unite together in writing the book known as “The Bass Rock.”[1]
At the Disruption he was appointed Depute Clerk of the Free Church General Assembly, which office he continued to discharge till he died.[2]
Character edit
In the religious poetry of the olden time Mr Crawford was much interested, and had a large and accurate acquaintanceship with the names and works of the old poets, from the Reformation downwards. More than one of his favourite hymns he printed in neat leaflets for letters, and for general distribution.[2]
Death and burial edit
He died on 17 November 1863; and he lies buried in the Grange Cemetery.[2][6]
Family edit
He married:
- (1) 25 August 1846, Euphemia, daughter of Andrew Somerville, Luffness
- (2) 25 November 1856, Jane Watt, daughter of Robert Davidson, H.E.I.C.S.[3]
References edit
Citations edit
- ^ a b Marine guide 1891.
- ^ a b c d e f Wylie 1881.
- ^ a b c WS history 1890.
- ^ Bruce 1844.
- ^ Ewing 1914.
- ^ Rogers 1872.
Sources edit
- Brown, Thomas (1893). Annals of the disruption with extracts from the narratives of ministers who left the Scottish establishment in 1843 by Thomas Brown. Edinburgh: Macniven & Wallace.
- Bruce, John, with other Elders and Deacons (1844). Address by the Elders and Deacons, to the Congregation of the Free St Andrews Church, Edinburgh, Under the Ministry of the Rev. John Bruce. Edinburgh: Balfour and Jack, printers.
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This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Ewing, William (1914). Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1843-1900. Vol. 2. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. p. 27.
- Martine, John (1890). Reminiscenes and notices of fourteen parishes of the county of Haddington. Edinburgh: Turnbull & Spears. pp. 158, 172.
- M'Crie, Thomas (1847). The Bass rock: Its civil and ecclesiastic history. Edinburgh: J. Greig & Son. p. 42. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Rogers, Charles (1872). Monuments and monumental inscriptions in Scotland. Vol. 1. London: Published for the Grampian Club [by] C. Griffin. p. 154.
- Walker, Norman L. (1895). Chapters from the History of the Free Church of Scotland. Edinburgh: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier. pp. 129, 359.
- Wylie, James Aitken, ed. (1881). Disruption worthies : a memorial of 1843, with an historical sketch of the free church of Scotland from 1843 down to the present time. Edinburgh: T. C. Jack. pp. 173–178. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- Marine Hotel guide to North Berwick and vicinity (5th ed.). Edinburgh,etc.: Stewart, George and Co., publishers. 1891. pp. 21–22. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.
- A history of the Society of Writers to Her Majesty's Signet [electronic resource] : with a list of the members of the society from 1594 to 1890 and an abstract of the minutes. Edinburgh: Printed for the Society at the University Press. 1890. p. 46. This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.