I. CONGREGATIONS

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From the beginning the Old Dissenters—or the “Mountain Men,” or the “Cameronians,” as their opponents variously styled them—were considered one compact, undivided body so far as their ecclesiastical administration and the services of their ministers were concerned. For local purposes, chiefly devotional and educative, they were divided into “Societies,” and these again were grouped into “Correspondences,” whose boundaries were mainly those of counties but depended on contiguity and facilities for communication. Over all was the “General Meeting,” a deliberative and legislative body, representative of the whole community. Not till 1743 was a Presbytery set up, and then it gradually assumed the powers held by the General Meeting, although the latter continued to meet for some time longer. Its later existence was for deliberative purposes only, decisions being left in the hands of the Presbytery.

As the Church began to grow, its organisation was not felt to be adequate to the needs of the community, and at a meeting of Presbytery on April 12, O.S., 1760, the question of division or “disjunction” was raised. The matter was delayed for nearly a year, but on February 22, 1761, all the societies were disjoined into three separate “congregations,” the first time the name was used. The place-names will indicate the territory the Church covered.

1. The societies in Merse, Teviotdale, Lothian, Tweeddale, and Forest, with those of Carnwath and Douglas.

2. The societies of Eskdale, Annandale, Nithsdale and Galloway, with those of Cumnock, Mountherrick, and Wanlockhead.

3. The societies in the Nether Ward of Clydesdale, Ayrshire (excepting Cumnock), Renfrew and Monteith.

It was open to any of the divisions to petition for the services of any of the ministers.

The new arrangement failed to satisfy the people, and next year it was agreed to withdraw the details of the scheme, although the principle of division was retained in “full force.” M‘Millan II, for whose services the Northern and Eastern congregation were anxious, was meantime to

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retain his old relation to the whole community. On March 1, 1763, an agreement was reached and the Church was divided into a Northern and a Southern congregation, the boundary being roughly the continuation east and west of the line of the Lead Hills. M‘Millan was assigned to the Northern congregation, and the place of his residence was referred to himself. Courtass was given the Southern congregation. The division was practically unanimous, for only two persons entered their dissent.

In each of the congregations thus set up there were two centres. In the Northern these were at Pentland in Midlothian, and at Sandhills, a few miles to the east of Glasgow. In the Southern they were at Quarrelwood near Dumfries, and at Water of Urr near Castle Douglas.

PENTLAND AND LOANHEAD

Ministers.—John M‘Millan II, 1750–87; John Thorburn, 1762–88; William Goold, 1804–18; William Anderson, 1820–63.

As far back as 1680 there is evidence that an active Covenanting community existed at Pentland, a little village in Midlothian within a few miles of the battlefield of Rullion Green. The names of some associated with it are well known—Helen Alexander, who helped to bury James Renwick after his execution¹; James Currie, who erected the first Martyrs’ Monument in Greyfriars’ Churchyard, Edinburgh; and Charles Umpherston, who trained for the Covenanting ministry and became a physician and active helper in the government of the whole Church in the first half of the eighteenth century. John M‘Neill, the first probationer and long the only colleague of John M‘Millan I, lived at Loanhead and is buried in Pentland. Another of the early probationers, Archibald Grieve, who died in 1760, likewise lies in the village churchyard. In the extant minutes the first meeting of Presbytery that is recorded as having been held at it is dated February 21, 1761. It is apparent, therefore, that the congregation at Pentland must be reckoned among the first, if not the first, of the Church.

When the societies were finally divided into two congregations in 1763, the main difference in the Northern congregation was as to where John M‘Millan II was to reside. It is uncertain where he settled down at first, though it was probably at Pentland, where he obtained his wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of Charles Umpherston, the surgeon mentioned

¹ “Some months after this, Mr Renwick being taken, I went and saw him in prison. When discoursing about several things I said, Sir, within a little you will get the white robes; he added, and palms in my hands. And when he was executed I went along to the Grey Friars’ Church Yard, took him into my arms until stripped of his clothes, helped to wind him in his grave clothes, and helped to put him into his coffin.”—Autobiography of Helen Alexander, Scottish Presbyterian, III, 278.

CONGREGATIONS 11

above. She died on February 24, 1765, and is buried at Pentland. In December 1763 the congregation petitioned that John Thorburn, who had been ordained in 1762, should be settled over them as colleague to M‘Millan II. Ten years later an active movement took place for some division of the wide area into separate congregations. Merse and Teviotdale, and Ayr and Renfrew both succeeded in securing a disjunction in 1775. Inverkeithing, Hamilton and Stirling were erected in 1777. In 1778 a division of the remaining Eastern and Western sides was proposed, but the matter was postponed. In 1782 the project was renewed, and the Western side promised “to give a quota to Pentland until they were able to help themselves.” At the same time they asked that M‘Millan II should be settled over them as their pastor, leaving Thorburn for Pentland. Nothing seems to have been done, although the community was financially independent of the West.

On November 23, 1785, a petition was presented stating that Pentland was unable longer to support themselves as a congregation. There is extant a small account book which shows that next year their income was only £36, and the total stood at that amount for several years. It was contributed from four centres, all of which formed part of the congregation—Edinburgh, Hailes Quarry, Loanhead and Newbattle. By far the largest supporters were the societies in Edinburgh, which contributed more than half of the whole annual income. It was suggested that a supplement might be available for Thorburn if he were appointed Teacher of Divinity for the Church. He was duly elected, but he never seems to have benefited much from the provision that was promised. The question of disjunction from Sandhills in the west was again raised in 1786, and on February 13, 1787, the separation was officially sanctioned. Thorburn was recognised as sole minister of Pentland. He died next year.

When the Pentland church, which is described as “a low, plain, thatched building,” was built is unknown, but it was probably the first permanent place of worship the whole Church possessed. During the next century it was transformed into dwelling-houses, and has now disappeared.

The years succeeding the death of Thorburn were difficult ones for the congregation. They had to depend on what supply the Presbytery was able to give. In 1790 they had sermon on six Sabbaths only, though the Sacrament was also dispensed with the attendance of at least four ministers. In 1791 they had supply on eight Sabbaths, and in 1792 on seven. In that last year they applied for moderation, but granting it was delayed until they could guarantee a stipend of £50 and a manse. On November 28 a call was reported to John Fairley, but it was not sustained because the condition had not been observed, and because the

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majority in its favour was narrow. On August 21, 1793, moderation was again allowed, and on November 13 it appeared that Thomas Rowatt had been chosen, the call being signed by “a great majority” of the people, though there was a protest by a few “on account of the proceedings therein.” Rowatt, who was present, asked time to consider the offer.

The transactions that ensued showed the inflamed condition of the congregation. The Presbytery determined that the reasons for the protest were insufficient to invalidate the call, but the opposition were insistent. The hostility was so great that a Fast was ordered by the Presbytery, but no change of conduct or opinion took place. At the meeting of Presbytery on March 18, 1795, the opponents of the call tabled a protest which contained strange language. “As we have hitherto been disappointed,” it said, “and our most sanguine hopes blasted by procrastinations of the present mournful contest, we have laid our account with the worst and are fully resolved to defend our gospel privileges with our persons when all other means do fail, and excepting three we know none of our Brethren but what are convinced not only of the lawfulness but expediency of such a measure from the manifold testimonies and examples of our Reformers, but especially from the law and testimony of our Redeemer, Rom. xii. 1; Luke xxii. 36; Heb. xii. 4, and many other Scriptures.” The Presbytery demanded the withdrawal of the document and the renunciation of a pamphlet that had been published in connection with the dispute, on pain of the authors being declared no longer members of the Church. Rowatt attempted to allay matters by refusing the call, but at another meeting he was again called. Again the call was set aside by the Presbytery. In spite of this it was again presented to him, with the same result, on March 16, 1796.

The disturbed state of the congregation continued for nearly three years longer, and apparently no further attempt to call a minister was made. Edinburgh ceased in 1790 to contribute to the joint funds. The congregation had meantime been removed in 1792 to the village of Loanhead, a mile to the east, where a church had been built with the help of the Edinburgh members. In 1803 two-thirds of the supply granted was apportioned to Edinburgh. Next year moderation was given, and on August 15 it was reported that William Goold had been called. He accepted, and was ordained at Edinburgh over the joint congregation on December 13, 1804. Until 1818 he ministered to an undivided people, but, on June 20 of that year, Loanhead was formally disjoined from Edinburgh, and Goold elected to settle in Edinburgh.

On March 2, 1819, moderation was granted to Loanhead as a vacant congregation, and on May 12 it was reported that Peter M‘Indoe had been elected. M‘Indoe, however, had also calls from Chirnside and

CONGREGATIONS 13

Eaglesham, and at the Synod of that year he chose Chirnside. On August 24 moderation was again allowed, and on November 2 the Presbytery were informed that William Anderson had been unanimously elected. Anderson was an Irish probationer, and his transference was completed only at the same meeting. The irregularity of electing one who was not a recognised probationer of the Church caused some difficulty, but on January 25, 1820, the call was sustained. He himself hesitated over acceptance, but on May 2 he closed with it, and was ordained on August 16.

The ministry of Anderson was most acceptable, and he continued with the congregation till his death in 1866. He took a large share in the business of the Church, and acted as Clerk of Presbytery for many years. In 1847 the membership of his congregation was 150. The outlook of both minister and people was distinctly conservative, and they opposed the tendency in the Church to relax the regulation regarding the Elective Franchise. When the decision in favour of freedom was made by the Synod of 1863, they immediately repudiated connection with the majority and aided in constituting the minority Synod. Loanhead was then removed from the roll of congregations.

SANDHILLS AND GLASGOW

(Great Hamilton Street United Free Church, Glasgow)

Ministers.—John M‘Millan I, 1706–53; John M‘Millan II, 1750–1808; John Fairley, 1794–1807; David Armstrong, 1815–38; William Symington, D.D., 1839–62; William Symington, D.D., 1859–79; Simeon R. Macphail, D.D., 1878–80; George Davidson, B.Sc., 1881–83; James Gage, B.D., 1884–92; David Eaton, D.D., 1893–1902; W. J. Couper, M.A., 1902—.

The congregation in Glasgow and neighbourhood dates back traditionally to the time of the institution of the Praying Societies in 1681. After the division of the various societies into two congregations in 1763, it was constituted a part of the Northern congregation, and shared the services of the two ministers assigned to it—John M‘Millan II, and John Thorburn. On March 11, 1778, the Presbytery had before them petitions from both Pentland in Midlothian and Sandhills in Lanarkshire, which constituted the two chief centres of the congregation, asking that they be formally disjoined, but “owing to a demur” the matter was postponed. The Western section renewed the request in 1782 by asking that M‘Millan be settled among them permanently as their fixed pastor, but the petition was not granted till February 13, 1787, when M‘Millan was formally disjoined from Pentland and assigned to the West. He took up his residence on the estate of a near relative at Sandhills, and about the same time a small church was erected in the grounds. The people coming increasingly

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from the city of Glasgow, the congregation acquired the derelict building of the dissentient Reformed Presbyterians in the Calton of Glasgow. For a time worship was conducted in both buildings. In 1803 services at Sandhills were discontinued, and thereafter the congregation belonged mainly to the city.

In 1794, John Fairley was settled as colleague to M‘Millan, but his ministry did not last long. Loss of voice caused dissatisfaction, and after some agitation he retired on November 11, 1807, although he remained a member of the congregation till his death thirty years later. M‘Millan died in 1808, and the vacancy thus caused lasted till February 23, 1815, when David Armstrong was settled as minister. Under his charge the congregation continued to grow until the Calton building proved too small. A new church was accordingly provided in Great Hamilton Street, and opened on August 15, 1819. Armstrong’s ministry was uneventful till 1829, when grumblings were heard in the congregation. These increased, until in 1834 the malcontents seceded to form a new congregation—West Campbell Street—for which sanction was obtained in April 1835. Armstrong died in 1838. The call addressed to Dr William Symington of Stranraer caused some difficulty, because it proposed to violate the Church’s rule regarding the non-transference of ministers from one congregation to another, but he was settled on July 11, 1839.

Symington’s ministry was eminently successful, the membership rising to almost 1000, and the congregation taking a foremost place in the religious life of the city. Mission work was begun tentatively in 1840 in the near neighbourhood of the church. In 1851 premises were acquired in Green Street, Calton, which in 1883 gave place to a suite of halls erected specially for the work. The mission was carried on so vigorously by John G. Paton, afterwards of the New Hebrides, and John Edgar, that under the latter it developed into the congregation now known as Barrowfield United Free Church. A day school was also started in September 1840, which, on the passage of the Education Act of 1870, was handed over to the public authorities, with its staff of six certificated teachers and several pupil teachers—the second largest school in the city. In 1853 it was thought that the increase in the membership of the congregation itself warranted the starting of a new cause on the south side of the river, and what came to be called Renwick United Free Church was originated. In 1853 Dr Symington was elected one of the two divinity professors, and from that time till his death the Hall was held in the church premises. He died on January 28, 1862.

He was succeeded by his son, Dr William Symington II, of Castle Douglas, who was inducted as colleague on March 3, 1859. He continued minister till the Union of 1876, dying in 1879. In his later years the membership suffered from the shifting of the population of the city.

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Great Hamilton Street has rightly been called “a mother of churches,” for most of the Reformed Presbyterian congregations in the west of Scotland drew their origin from it. During the nineteenth century it was the most influential in the denomination.

See Sketch of the First Reformed Presbyterian Congregation, by Thomas Binnie, Paisley, 1888; Free Church Monthly, September 1898; A Century of Congregational Life, by W. J. Couper, Glasgow, 1919.

QUARRELWOOD AND DUMFRIES

Ministers.—John Courtass, 1755–95; James Thomson, 1796–1810; John Jeffrey, 1817–26; James Brown, 1831–34; John M‘Dermid, 1835–55; A. M. Symington, D.D., 1856–67; Robert M‘Kenna, M.A., 1867–1917; Thomas Keir, M.A., 1909–24.

This congregation dates back beyond all record. At the division of the whole Church into the Northern and Southern congregations in 1763, it formed an original part of the latter, and John Courtass was then nominated one of its pastors. Later in the same year John Fairley was similarly settled over it. In 1764 there was some difficulty about “the affairs of a public and general concern.” This appears to relate to the proportion of giving from the various societies composing the congregation: in 1768 it was reported that some were still “remiss in supporting the gospel among them.” For some time Merse and Teviotdale were dissatisfied at being considered part of the congregation, and in 1776 the whole question of its position was raised, with the result that Merse and Teviotdale was disjoined and declared vacant. In 1780 the definite division of the whole congregation was discussed, and in 1781 the district was divided into two separate congregations, John Courtass being apportioned to the eastern section—a disjunction that was made absolute in 1786. The territory thus assigned was bounded “by the Esk on the east, the Urr on the west, by the line from New Galloway to Moffat on the north, and the Solway on the south, comprising thirty or forty parishes and nearly as large as the county of Dumfries.” Courtass died on January 31, 1795.

On August 26 thereafter Quarrelwood asked for moderation, and on March 16, 1796, James Thomson accepted a call. He was ordained at Quarrelwood on September 15. In 1798 a church was built at the same village, which was considered the centre of the congregation till 1828; about the same time a manse was also provided. Unfortunately Thomson’s health broke down, and he died in 1810. It was not till August 11, 1813, that moderation was granted, and on May 4, 1814, it was reported that James Douglas had been chosen. Douglas temporised,

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and the call was ultimately set aside. On October 5, the Presbytery was informed that David Armstrong had been elected, but by that time he had accepted Glasgow. At last John Jeffrey was elected on April 30, 1816. After considering competing calls, he accepted Quarrelwood, and was ordained on April 3, 1817. The story of his unfortunate ministry is told elsewhere. He was released from his charge on May 12, 1826, and died soon after.

In 1826 sermon was obtained by those who belonged to the congregation and lived in the town of Dumfries. “The sacrament was dispensed in a small field adjoining St Michael’s churchyard: on the week days we had the use of [Buccleuch Street, Burgher] church. After a time the George Inn Ball Room, and later the old Assembly Rooms, Assembly Street, were rented.” The church was erected in Irving Street and opened in May 1832. In that year the centre of the congregation was removed to Dumfries, and Quarrelwood was used only as a preaching station. At the Disruption the old building housed the Free Church congregation for a time. It still stands, converted to domestic uses.

In 1829 moderation was asked for, the stipend promised being £80, and, on condition that a manse was provided as soon as possible, the petition was granted. William Symington was called, and such was his reputation that he was offered £160 with a manse, but he accepted Stranraer. Delay thereafter occurred, and it was not till July 1831 that James Brown was invited to the pastorate, 64 members and 18 adherents signing the call. He accepted and was ordained on November 15, 1831. Heavy work undermined his health, and he died on May 17, 1834.

Before the end of the year Peter Carmichael was called, but he declined. In the course of the proceedings curious allegations were made that illicit means had been used to obtain the call—extra stipend being privately promised by some, and the orthodoxy of another candidate being impugned. On May 11, 1835, John M‘Dermid was unanimously called, and he was ordained on October 8. In 1855 he accepted a call to Glasgow. A debt of £600 had remained on the property, and in 1856 that sum was generously wiped out by a member of the Church of Scotland.

On March 4, 1856, A. M. Symington was called by 162 members and 3 adherents, and he was ordained on June 12. During the next few years the congregation suffered from several agitations—voting at elections, too frequent translations within the Church, etc. Symington took a considerable part in the Revival of 1859–60 within the town. In 1857 the membership was reported at 240, and in 1862 at 300. In 1863 stipend was increased from £150 to £190, and in 1866 the church buildings were renovated and a class-room added. The cost of £600 was not completely met till 1872. Symington was called to Greenock in 1860, but

CONGREGATIONS 17

preferred to remain in Dumfries. On May 27, 1867, he accepted a call to England.

When Robert M‘Kenna, of Port Glasgow, was called on August 29, 1867, he was promised £175 as stipend, along with a manse. The membership at the time was 260, but the call was signed by 117 only. A petition was presented against it, signed by 66, but the Presbytery found that proceedings had been regular and sustained the call. M‘Kenna was inducted on December 5, 1867. In the following year the membership, exclusive of Dunscore, was stated to be 190. At the Union of 1876 it was still 190.

The congregation continued with a diminishing membership till 1924, when it was dissolved and the property sold, the proceeds being devoted mainly to church extension in the Dumfries Presbytery.

CHIRNSIDE

Ministers.—John Reid, 1783–1801; James Phillips, 1807–12; Peter M‘Indoe, 1819–38; Thomas Marshall, 1839–42; David Henderson, 1843–60; Robert Naismith, 1861–91; John Somerville, B.D., 1891– ; W. C. Macdonald, M.A., 1919–22; John O. Westwater, M.A., 1923—.

Chirnside is situated in the middle of a wide district that took its share in the Covenanting struggle. In its immediate neighbourhood the extraordinary movement among the Reformed Presbyterian dissenters of 1753, that led to the formation of the Unitarian congregation in Edinburgh, had its rise.¹ The orthodox community must have been in existence from an early date, but it was not till March 3, 1773, that the Societies of Merse and Teviotdale petitioned the Presbytery for a disjunction. On June 11, 1775, the Presbytery agreed to the division on condition that the Southern congregation offered no objection. None was presented, and the disjunction was confirmed on October 25. On July 8, 1776, they asked to be declared vacant, a request which was granted on August 26. They were allowed moderation in a call on June 11, 1781. The reluctance of the Presbytery to grant moderation is shown by the reason attached to the permission: it was allowed “on account of their peculiar circumstances, lying at such a distance and being such a burden upon the Presbytery for their supply.”

On February 28, 1782, John Reid was elected first minister, the call being signed by 110 members and 31 adherents. At the Presbytery meeting on March 6, he showed disinclination to accept the invitation, but he submitted himself to the will of Presbytery. When they decided on

¹ See “A Breach in the Reformed Presbytery, 1753,” Scot. Church Hist. Soc. Records, I, 1–29.

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his acceptance, an elder dissented on the ground that it was “a forced deed.” Reid was ordained at Chirnside on March 12, 1783, the stipend promised being £40. If the “east side” of the congregation provided him with a house and he took up residence among them, the “west side,” that is those in the neighbourhood of Kelso, twenty miles distant, were to “support” a horse. When a church at Chirnside was erected is uncertain, but it was probably between 1780 and 1783. Before that time “the congregation met in a quarry in the immediate neighbourhood” of Chirnside, “or at various places in Merse and Teviotdale.” The church, when built, “was low in the ceiling and thatched,” and was repaired and improved several times until it was ultimately removed in 1897 to make way for the present church. The manse, built about the same time, but repaired and extended, is still in use as the minister’s residence.

In 1785 the congregation desired to be divided into two, and at the same time thought that deacons should be “set up and maintained” because the office was “of divine institution.” On November 23 the disjunction took place, and Reid was asked to make his choice, the line between the two congregations being drawn through Greenlaw and Coldstream. He chose to remain with the Chirnside section. On March 8, 1786, moderation was granted to Kelso, but it soon became apparent that it was too weak to stand alone, and on November 12, 1788, the disjunction was recalled. By 1799 Kelso was so reduced that they could not maintain themselves as an equal half of the congregation. The situation evidently caused some feeling, for in spite of their condition Kelso again asked for a disjunction. But the death of Reid in 1801 seems to have put an end for the time being to the agitation. The demand was renewed from time to time until finally settled in 1820 by the separation of the two sections.

In the autumn of 1801 Adam Brown was called, but he preferred Crookedholm. A year afterwards Walter Grieve was named, but the sustaining of the call was delayed owing to “various difficulties in it,” and an attempt to try to bring about “a reconciliation between the two sides.” Proceedings were quietly abandoned. In 1804 John Cowan was called, but he went to Stranraer. In the interval the two sides of the congregation do not seem to have been on the happiest terms: a dispute arose about where the Sacrament should be observed, and the Presbytery declared that if no agreement was reached it would not take place at all. At length James Phillips accepted a call, and he was ordained over the congregation on April 29, 1807. Unfortunately Phillips’ ministry was not successful. He had to engage in teaching to augment his income, and his health was not good. Division continued over the question of a disjunction, and in 1811 matters reached such a

CONGREGATIONS 19

crisis that the Presbytery again decided that the Sacrament could not be dispensed until conditions improved. On June 29, 1812, Phillips’ resignation was accepted. Meantime he had left the neighbourhood, and his “wilful desertion” of the charge was referred to the Synod. The congregation in the interval had so declined in number as to be unable to provide “adequate support” for a minister.

By May 3, 1814, circumstances had so improved that a call was addressed to John Douglas. Though he had a similar invitation elsewhere, Douglas accepted Chirnside, but he found difficulties in the way, and after some dilatory proceedings on his part, the call was set aside by the Synod in 1816. It was not till July 12, 1819, that Peter M‘Indoe was ordained over the congregation. In the first year of his ministry Kelso and Coldstream were formally disjoined from Chirnside.

M‘Indoe’s ministry at Chirnside was unhappy in its termination. In 1838 he stated to the Presbytery that rumours affecting his character were in circulation, and though these were found to be in part unfounded, relations with his people became so strained that his resignation was accepted on June 13. The congregation had afterwards to complain of a veiled attack M‘Indoe had made upon them in a short biographical introduction he had furnished to Brown’s Sacramental Discourses. Though the matter was referred to the Synod, no record seems to have been kept of the decision.

Thomas Marshall succeeded and was ordained on August 21, 1839, but his ministry was short. He died on March 11, 1842. At this time the congregation could not have been very large, for it was reported that “the number of families attending the chapels of Dissenters and Seceders is 74.” The membership of the Reformed Presbyterian congregation was 140.

On June 13, 1843, after a vote between John Inglis, afterwards missionary in the New Hebrides, and David Henderson, the latter was elected minister by a majority. Difficulties emerged over the choice, for some had “conscientious objections to his ministrations,” and were not satisfied as to “his prudence,” of which they had some grave examples. The objections, however, were overruled, and Henderson was ordained on October 11, 1843. His stipend was fixed at £75 in addition to the manse and garden.

Henderson continued minister till 1860 when he was called to, and on June 5 inducted over, Airdrie. In December following Robert Naismith was elected to the charge, but proceedings broke down. The call was unanimously renewed in March of next year, and accepted. He was ordained on May 2, 1861, and at once the prosperity of the congregation revived. Within three years the membership advanced from 115 to 150,

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and the annual contributions to the Synod’s mission schemes were quadrupled. In 1874 he was called to Airdrie but declined. Naismith’s ministry lasted beyond the Union of 1876 till 1891. Up to 1840 the church was the only one in Chirnside. The congregation united with the Erskine congregation in 1919.

CROOKEDHOLM AND KILMARNOCK

Ministers.—William Steven, 1777–96; Adam Brown, 1802–38; Peter M‘Indoe, D.D., 1839–50; George Lennie, 1852; Thomas Ramage, 1856–74; William Clow, 1874–1915; John Munn, 1908—.

In 1775 a petition was presented to the Presbytery craving that the shires of Renfrew and Ayr should be disjoined from the Northern congregation and given a separate existence. On August 26, 1776, after considerable delay they were declared vacant on condition that meantime they should continue to contribute their quota to the general expense of the parent congregation. On October 23 they asked for moderation, and it was granted on January 15, 1777. On March 19 it was reported that William Steven had been called, and he was ordained on September 4. The district to which he had to minister was a wide one, and he was under obligation to divide attention among at least three places, preaching two days at Darvel, two at Crookedholm, a short distance from Kilmarnock, and one at Fenwick. At first there was no place of worship, and up to 1785 the people at Crookedholm were accommodated in a “mean and incommodious loft.” In that year a church and manse were built at Crookedholm.

In 1785 the two counties were disjoined, Steven declaring for Ayrshire. After his death in 1796 dissensions broke out. In 1797 the advice of the Presbytery was asked in regard to the legality of calling a minister already in a collegiate charge, but the plan was not approved. In 1799 Darvel was discontented with the proportion of sermon allowed to them, and the Presbytery had to allocate the amount. The dissensions became so serious in 1800 that the civil matters in dispute were referred to arbiters. In the end Darvel refused to concur in the decisions reached, and asked disjunction. Meantime the congregation had called Adam Brown, who was also named by two other congregations. He accepted Crookedholm, and was ordained on June 2, 1802. Before the ordination the people of Darvel were informed that if they did not appear at the settlement, “and pay their proportion of stipend, being 30s. each Sabbath, we would consider them to have no claim on his ministry.” In 1802 the membership stood at 106, and these were drawn from Fenwick, Kilmarnock, Galston,

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Ayr, Kilmaurs, Tarbolton, Saltcoats, Catrine and Stewarton. In 1830 Ayr was disjoined.

In 1824 there began before the Presbytery an elaborate process in which the congregation was involved for some time. It arose out of the dissatisfaction of some with the discontinuance of “reading the line.” The main objector was a son of the late minister who with his brother had advanced money to the congregation for its building schemes. Additional embitterment was created by the removal of the congregation to Kilmarnock, where a new church was opened on May 15, 1825. So profound was the feeling that the civil courts were appealed to—a course which the Presbytery condemned. For a short time services were held at both places, and an attempt was made to create a new cause at Crookedholm. The case was at last settled by the offer to Steven of the Crookedholm church for £200—which offer was apparently accepted. The building still stands and has been converted into dwelling-houses. The dispute caused the minister much trouble and he proposed to resign. He, however, remained till his death in 1838. Shortly before his death the old manse was sold for £225.

On July 16, 1839, a “very harmonious call” was presented to Peter M‘Indoe, late of Chirnside, and he was inducted on August 15. His stipend was fixed at £60 with a manse. Immediately after the Disruption, it was proposed that correspondence should be opened with the Free Church with a view to union, but next year the matter was dropped. After a useful career, ecclesiastical, literary and municipal, Dr M‘Indoe died on September 2, 1850.

It was not till August 5, 1851, that George Lennie accepted a call, signed by 100 members and 23 adherents. He was in impaired health at the time, and his ordination was delayed till July 1, 1852. He died on September 23. The delay weakened the congregation, and it was not till April 4, 1854, that a call, signed by 90 members and 30 adherents, was presented to George Clazy, who preferred Paisley. A call to R. T. Martin was fruitless, for he accepted Wishaw. Thomas Ramage was next elected, and having accepted he was ordained on December 8, 1856.

Ramage was translated to Douglas Water in 1874, and William Clow received a call signed by 81 members and 13 adherents on June 22 of that year. Under Clow the congregation prospered. A feature of his work was a large Bible Class conducted for young people. Immediately after the Union of 1876 the membership stood at 188; in 1900 it was 376.

22 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

HAMILTON AND WISHAW

Ministers.—Archibald Mason, D.D., 1787–1831; John Graham, D.D., 1832–46; John Biggar, 1851–55; Robert Thomson Martin, 1856–63.

What afterwards became the Wishaw congregation had its first seat at Hamilton, where the Presbytery met frequently. For a time there had been much discussion regarding the division of the Northern congregation, and on January 15, 1777, it was agreed to confer a separate existence on Hamilton. At the same time it was declared vacant. On March 19 the Presbytery had to deal with four calls to John M‘Millan III, among which was one from Hamilton. On July 31 he rejected two, retaining Hamilton and Stirling for further consideration. On September 1 he accepted Stirling. Apparently the Hamilton people were much disappointed, for they lodged a complaint with the Presbytery that the members of the Stirling congregation were not sound Reformed Presbyterians, a complaint that the Presbytery found was not confirmed by facts. Afterwards the Stirling people had to state that the Hamilton section had not fulfilled their bargain in sharing in the support of their minister. Altogether their experience of separation does not appear to have been happy, because in March 1782 Hamilton offered to unite again under their former pastors.

In August 1785 they were again granted moderation, but the privilege of actual election was postponed. At length in August 1786 they appeared before the Presbytery with three others, all presenting calls to Archibald Mason. He accepted Hamilton, and was ordained on May 2, 1787. The ordination was carried out at Flemington, half-way between Hamilton and Wishaw, at a spot where “the main line of the Caledonian Railway [now] passes within a few yards.” The stipend was given at £40 with a free house and garden. For several years longer Hamilton continued to be an important Presbytery centre. For a time the congregation was known as that of “Wishawtown.”

Mason continued minister till 1831. For some years there was no place of worship. Meantime the town of Wishaw began to rise in importance. The proprietor was willing to encourage the growth by giving sites at a comparatively small cost, and the congregation resolved to acquire ground in it. A feu suitable for church and manse, together with a small glebe, was obtained on March 5, 1792, and building operations were soon completed. The glebe was said not to be “very valuable.” The church served as long as the congregation retained its connection with the Presbytery. A new church displaced the old building in 1876.

John Graham was ordained on August 14, 1832, the stipend being

CONGREGATIONS 23

increased to £70. Trouble soon arose with the section of the congregation about Hamilton, which was six miles distant from the church. On May 1, 1832, they had applied for a disjunction, but the Presbytery recommended them to wait meantime. In November the application was renewed, but it was not granted till November 1833. On appeal against the decision to the Synod the Presbytery was ordered to take into consideration some new matter that had emerged, and then the decision was against Hamilton. In 1835 some of the members at Hamilton were absenting themselves from Wishaw, and in June the Presbytery granted disjunction. Appeal was made to the Synod of 1836, which disallowed the disjunction. This appears to have been the last effort of the Hamilton people to obtain a separate existence.

In 1845 the congregation succeeded in retaining the services of Graham, who had been elected to Lesmahagow, but next year he accepted a call to Ayr. The congregation evidently considered itself injured by his removal, and for a time was in a state of revolt against the Presbytery for sanctioning the change. Its disturbed state continued for over a year.

On November 2, 1847, a call “came out” for Matthew G. Easton. In spite of a protest by 47 members, the call, signed by 60 members, was sustained by the Presbytery on January 11, 1848. The Synod, however, set it aside on the ground that it had not been made on a properly authenticated roll of electors. The next election lay between Alexander Young and William Binnie, the former being preferred. The call, however, came to nothing, and the disturbed condition of the congregation continued till June 16, 1851, when they united in a unanimous invitation to John Biggar. He was ordained on September 11.

The congregation was not yet out of its difficulties. In July 1853 a petition was presented for supply of ordinances. This was the beginning of a period of anxiety. Biggar’s mental condition did not improve, and on June 5, 1855, the pastoral tie was dissolved.

On March 11, 1856, Robert Thomson Martin was elected minister, 88 signing the call and 26 adherents. He was also called about the same time to Kilmarnock. At the Synod in May he accepted Wishaw, and was ordained there on July 30, 1856. Martin was a convinced opponent of the liberty taken by many in the matter of the political franchise, and on the vote by the Synod favouring that course in 1863, he, along with his session and congregation, seceded from the Church, carrying all the property with them. Wishaw then disappears from the roll of congregations.

24 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

STIRLING

Ministers.—John M‘Millan, 1778–1819; William Stevenson, 1827–48; William Binnie, D.D., 1849–1875; D. D. Ormond, 1876–1920.

Cameronian dissenters were to be found in Stirling and its neighbourhood from very early times. An accession was made to their number in 1776, when several left the Erskine Burgher congregation because of dissatisfaction with the settlement of Robert Campbell, M.A. For a time they apparently met in the open air in the “Apple Yard.” On January 15, 1777, they were disjoined from the Northern congregation, probably because of the addition to their strength. On March 19 the Presbytery was informed that John M‘Millan III had been called. He had three other calls, but he accepted Stirling, though he was not ordained till March 11, 1778, his father carrying through “the solemnity.”

M‘Millan’s ministry lasted till his death in 1819. A church was built in 1783 at a cost of £284, much of the material being apparently supplied free. In 1784, after some negotiations, the people in the neighbourhood of Falkirk and Linlithgow were disjoined and a separate congregation erected. In 1803 M‘Millan was chosen Teacher of Divinity for the denomination, and the Hall met in his session house till his death.

A meeting of the congregation for the election of a successor was not held till January 14, 1824, to enable them to recover financially. Their unanimous choice fell on James Reid, a probationer of the Irish Church and afterwards one of their professors at Belfast. His election was confirmed by the Presbytery, but on appeal to the Synod, Reid was declared ineligible. Considerable feeling was aroused at his rejection. Moderation was again granted, and on May 3, 1826, Gavin Rowatt was elected, but he chose Whithorn. On May 15, 1827, William Stevenson accepted a unanimous call, and he was ordained on September 12. A manse had been acquired in 1843, and the seating accommodation of the church was improved in 1846–7. Unfortunately Stevenson’s behaviour was unsatisfactory, and he was loosed from the charge in 1848. On March 12, 1849, William Binnie was called by a majority over another candidate, and was ordained on May 25. He remained minister until he was elected professor in the Free Church College in Aberdeen. He accepted the call on September 14, 1875. He was succeeded by D. D. Ormond, who was ordained on March 9, 1876, immediately before the Union. The congregation was united with the North Church on January 1, 1909, on the retirement of Ormond.

See Ormond’s A Kirk and a College in the Craigs of Stirling, Stirling, 1897.

CONGREGATIONS 25

INVERKEITHING

(Sometimes named Dunfermline)

Minister.—Walter Grieve, 1779–88.

It is unknown when a congregation in the West of Fifeshire originated, but on August 26, 1776, the people in that quarter felt themselves strong enough to ask the Presbytery for moderation in a call. The Presbytery acted cautiously and sent a commissioner to enquire, with the result that on January 17, 1777, they were recognised as a congregation. In the following March they called John M‘Millan III, but he chose Stirling. On April 4, 1779, it was reported that they had elected Walter Grieve. He was ordained on November 3, 1779, the stipend being £35 per annum. It is apparent that the congregation had then a meeting house, for on one occasion it is stated that a committee of Presbytery “repaired to the meeting house.”

The resources of the congregation never seem to have been adequate to its needs, and the minute of Presbytery for August 15, 1787, records that “the report from the congregation of Dunfermline was mournful and distressing.” It was stated that to relieve the situation “the congregation proposed to advance £20 ster. yearly to the Rev. Mr Grieve, for which 10 men in the congregation were to be bound, and to allow him a liberty of leaving his congregation to supply the vacant congregations, as he shall be called,” an arrangement which was to continue for a year. On March 5, 1788, however, the congregation reported “their inability to support themselves in the character of a congregation any longer,” and asked that the relation between them and Grieve should be dissolved, if no relief could be afforded them. On July 25 Grieve resigned. Controversy between him and the congregation continued for some time longer regarding the arrears of stipend due to him. Accusations were frequent, but the Presbytery exonerated Grieve, and declared their hesitation to allow the celebration of the Sacrament. The name of the congregation occurs for the last time in 1791, and it seems to have disappeared soon afterwards. For the next thirty years supply was given intermittently, chiefly at Dunfermline, but the adherents of the Church seem then to have disappeared from the district.

26 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

LAURIESTON

Ministers.—John Reid, 1788–1821; Hugh Young, 1822–62; Andrew Symington, 1864–69; James Hunter, B.D., 1870– ; John H. Ross, M.A., 1920—.

On May 7, 1783, petition was made to the Presbytery that a disjunction should be granted between the East and the West sections of the Stirling congregation. The matter was postponed, and on June 16 the request was declined and the minister, along with two other members of Presbytery, was authorised to consult with the petitioners. On November 10 of the next year, the petition, which was again presented by the west side of the congregation, was granted, the eastern side agreeing. The dividing line was fixed as “east and south of the Carron” river, and John M‘Millan III, the minister, was apportioned to the western section. The boundary between the two congregations, however, was not satisfactory, and in 1785 “the congregation of Linlithgow, Bo’ness and Falkirk,” as they were called, asked for a modification in their favour. As a consequence the parishes of Larbert, Airth and Bothkennar were added to their jurisdiction.

On March 8, 1786, moderation was granted, and along with three others, the new congregation called Archibald Mason, but he accepted Hamilton. On March 5, 1788, John Reid accepted their call, and he was ordained on July 23. The congregation at the time was widely scattered, and came from eight different parishes. The church was not built till 1789, and was most inconveniently situated “in a narrow back row, on a site obtained by feuing a portion of two gardens” in the village of Laurieston.

Reid died on December 4, 1820, and on November 13, 1821, Hugh Young accepted a call and was ordained on March 30, 1822. On the formation of the Synod in 1811, Laurieston had been placed in the North-eastern Presbytery: on the creation of four Presbyteries in 1834 it was transferred to that of Glasgow. In 1872 it was made a part “temporarily” of the Edinburgh Presbytery, and on the Union of 1876 it was attached to the Presbytery of Falkirk and Linlithgow. In 1825 a dispute arose between the Synod and the congregation on account of a small legacy of £50, but “in consequence of circumstances detailed to the Synod,” and referring to the financial condition of the congregation, £30 was handed over to it. The society at Linlithgow caused some trouble and more than one petition from members of it were brought before the Synod, but found no support.

Young’s ministry lasted till 1862, and was carried on amid increasing difficulty. An unpleasant discipline case arose in 1849 and dispelled the peace and harmony of the congregation. It dragged on in its results

CONGREGATIONS 27

till 1852, and had a deplorable effect on the membership and their financial support of the minister. Several visitations of the congregation by the Presbytery took place, and matters seem to have been adjusted. When Young died, the membership had been reduced to 27.

It was not thought desirable to place a full minister in charge of the congregation “in its weak and depressed condition,” and Andrew Symington, then a student, was put in control. So successful was he in building up the congregation that on December 21, 1863, he was elected minister and ordained on February 25 following. The ministry of Symington was notable for an evangelical revival, the spirit of which has continued ever since. In 1863 a new church was built on the old site at a cost of £770, and within a few months was entirely free of debt.

Symington was translated to Greenock in 1869, and on January 27, 1870, James Hunter, B.D., was elected. The call was signed by 62 members and 15 adherents, the stipend offered being £105 with a manse. He was ordained on March 24. In 1875 the membership had risen to 130, and since then it has gone on increasing. For many years the church was the only place of worship in the village.

PERTH

The first recorded meeting of the society at Perth seems to date from March 9, 1785, when they asked that elders be ordained among them. Three were accordingly set apart. On August 31 of the same year moderation was applied for, but granting it was postponed. On November 23 liberty was allowed, but no date was named; it was ultimately fixed on March 8, 1786. On August 16 it was reported that Archibald Mason had been elected, but he accepted Hamilton. Moderation was again granted, and on February 13, 1787, the Presbytery was informed that John Reid had been called. The call was sustained, but Reid asked for delay. Meantime difference of opinion emerged among the people, and on August 15 they proposed that the matter be postponed until a better disposition appeared among them. Although Reid wanted to return the call, settlement was delayed. On November 14 he refused the call.

This seems to have been the end of congregational effort at Perth. The impending collapse of Inverkeithing suggested a union with them, but that course did not commend itself. Thereafter the name of Perth appears fitfully in the records, sometimes in conjunction with Dundee, but ultimately drops out altogether.

28 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

NEWTON-STEWART

Ministers.—James Reid, 1783–1828; John Campbell, 1830–38; James Goold, 1843–95; W. H. Brown Douglas, B.A., 1894—.

In 1780 Galloway petitioned the Presbytery for a disjunction, and after much consideration the principle of division was conceded. On October 31, 1781, it was agreed that while the collegiate connection of the whole Southern congregation should continue, Galloway should be erected into a distinct charge, but should contribute to the whole until it obtained a fixed pastor of its own. On July 1, 1782, Galloway was declared vacant. Only one candidate was possible—James Reid—and he had great difficulty in accepting a call, but he did so on February 5, 1783. He was ordained “at or near Minigaff” on July 16. In 1786 the severance between the two sections of the Southern congregation was made complete.

Towards the end of the century Reid found the work too heavy for him. There was no church, and sometimes the attendance at the Sacrament was very large—10,000 to 15,000, with no fewer than 700 horses tethered close at hand, is given on one occasion. In 1796 Stranraer and Stoneykirk asked for disjunction, and on August 17 the division was agreed to, Reid being given his choice. He chose the “congregation in the low end of Galloway,” his residence being near Newton-Stewart. The first meeting house was not built till after 1818. It continued in use till 1833, when a church, now used for Sabbath school purposes, was erected. It was frequently enlarged and improved. The manse was originally of one story. In 1843 a second was added.

In 1817 Reid wished to retire, but his people were willing to take what service he could give. In 1818 he still wanted to resign because of “inadequate support,” but he agreed to continue till February 1820, “but no longer.” In 1821 he was still at work, and consented to the disjunction of Whithorn. He afterwards became dissatisfied with the attitude of the Synod, and ultimately left the district altogether. He died in 1828.

It was not till 1829 that moderation was asked for, and it took place on March 15. John Campbell had a majority, but his settlement was the beginning of trouble. His trials were sustained with difficulty. A party opposed his ordination which nevertheless was carried out on October 27, 1830. Campbell does not appear to have been a scholarly man. One elder was particularly objectionable, and after a “painful and protracted” process was excommunicated. In 1838 Campbell petitioned to be allowed to resign, and on June 11 of next year his demission was accepted. So great was the depression of the congregation that they asked for a probationer, who might act as a missionary among them and save them from

CONGREGATIONS 29

extinction. In 1841 they rallied and fixed on John M‘Leod, afterwards of Stranraer, as minister. It was not till September 29, 1842, that James Goold was called. He accepted and was ordained on January 17, 1843.

Goold lived to celebrate his jubilee after a long ministry of efficient service in the community. In 1875 the membership was 60, but progress was afterwards made and in 1900 it was 137. In 1909 the Rutherford and Creebridge congregation united under the name of Trinity, and in 1923 the remaining congregation—York Road—joined, making one United Free Church congregation for the town.

KILMALCOLM AND PORT-GLASGOW

Ministers.—Thomas Henderson, 1787–1823; William M‘Lachlan, 1825–76; Robert M‘Kenna, M.A., 1866–67; Alexander Baird, 1869–1919; James W. Anderson, 1906—.

In 1785 the people of Renfrew petitioned to be disjoined from the county of Ayr, and in November of that year disjunction was carried out. William Steven, the minister, declared for Ayrshire, though he was to continue supervising the whole until a minister was chosen for Renfrewshire. On March 8 of the following year moderation was granted to Renfrewshire, and on November 8 it was reported that Thomas Henderson had been elected. He was ordained on May 1, 1787.

Henderson was settled over a wide parish, which included societies meeting at Paisley, Kilbirnie, Greenock, Dumbarton, and Lorn. Kilmalcolm seems to have been chosen as the centre because of its situation, and there a church was built in 1787. Up to that time meetings had been held in the open air; for a short time the congregation had the use of the old Parish Church of Kilallan. The new church was a humble building, and was frequently unable to accommodate the crowds that resorted to it on sacramental occasions. The ordinance had, accordingly, to be dispensed out of doors. It has now been converted into small dwelling-houses.

During the ministry of Henderson disjunctions were often spoken of, but for the most part were dropped out of deference to his feelings. Paisley in 1804, Kilbirnie in 1823, and Greenock in 1825 were one after another set up. Kilmalcolm thus became “the centre of a great home mission and the nursing mother of young congregations.”

Henderson died in 1823. Moderation was granted for December 31, and resulted in the choice of Thomas Halliday, but at the following Synod he accepted Airdrie. At the next moderation on May 11, 1825, William M‘Lachlan was declared elected unanimously, and he was ordained on September 28. He remained minister till near the Union of 1876.

As a result of disjunctions and the depopulation of the district, “the

30 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

parent congregation was reduced to comparatively few members.” In 1854 it was felt that removal must be made to the neighbouring town of Port-Glasgow, where a considerable number of members resided. Both Presbytery and Synod approved, and the change was made. A new church, designed by one of the members, was opened on August 1, 1856. The total cost was £1276, and the price was cleared off almost at once.

In 1865 M‘Lachlan intimated that he required a colleague, owing to advancing years. Robert M‘Kenna was elected by a majority, the call being signed by 82 members and 14 adherents. The stipend promised was £80. He was ordained on April 24, 1866, but he remained only eighteen months. In April the congregation petitioned that the senior minister should be relieved of all duty, and that he be granted an allowance of £50 and a colleague £100. On September 15, Alexander Baird, who had been acting as an assistant for a year, was unanimously elected, the call being signed by 113 members and 18 adherents. Under his ministry the congregation so prospered that a gallery, giving additional sittings to 200, was added to the church in 1873, when the membership stood at 210. In 1876 it was 285. In 1905 the congregation united with another local congregation to form Newark United Free Church.

PENPONT

Ministers.—Thomas Rowatt, 1796–1832; Peter Carmichael, 1835–60; William Milroy, B.A., 1862–93; William Simpson, M.A., 1893–1901; Thomas Clark, 1902—.

The congregation of Penpont, locally known as Scaurbridge, originally formed part of the congregation under the supervision of James Reid. In 1796 he complained that he was unable to overtake the wide area, and on August 17 the congregation was divided into two. At the same meeting of Presbytery it was reported that the new congregation of Penpont had unanimously elected Thomas Rowatt, and he was ordained on September 14. A church with about 500 sittings had been built in 1791. Douglas Water was disjoined in 1807. In 1826 difference of opinion about the boundary between Penpont and Quarrelwood arose, and continued for some time. Rowatt died in 1832.

On January 1, 1833, moderation was granted, but difficulties arose and nothing was done. The meeting did not take place till December 22, and when the call to Peter Carmichael came before the Presbytery, it was found that there was a large and hostile minority. Although a petition signed by 40 members was presented, the call was sustained, and Carmichael was ordained on April 15, 1835.

Carmichael’s ministry was very vigorous, but it was disturbed by several

CONGREGATIONS 31

appeals to the Higher Courts of the Church. In 1841 there was a conflict with the newly disjoined congregation at Sanquhar. In spite of these things, however, the congregation became the second largest in the denomination. On August 21, 1860, a call to Carmichael from Greenock was accepted, and the pulpit was declared vacant on October 21. It was not till June 5, 1862, that they were able to ask for moderation, and on July 2 a call was presented to William Milroy by 210 members and 39 adherents. He accepted and was ordained on August 7.

All along the congregation had been opposed to the freedom granted by the Synod of 1863 on the Franchise question, but the resolution to which they came is altogether to their credit—“That while they may or may not approve to the full extent of that decision, yet still they do accept it in preference to creating division in the Church of Christ.” The resolution was almost unanimously carried, and the meeting pledged itself to resist all attempts to create division and discord, and condemned attempts already made. That spirit prevailed in the years that followed. In 1876 Milroy was not altogether in favour of the Church departing from what he considered its testimony, but the people did nothing officially to oppose the Union of that year. The membership was then 140, for although the congregation was situated in a specially Covenanting district, rural depopulation had been active.

STRANRAER

Ministers.—Robert Douglas, 1797–1800; John Cowan, 1804–17; William Symington, D.D., 1819–39; John Macleod, 1841–49; Thomas Easton, 1850–76.

The difficulty of working the large and widespread congregation in the Galloway region has already been referred to. The complaint of James Reid resulted in the disjunction of Stranraer and Stoneykirk, and their erection into one congregation on August 17, 1796. On September 15 moderation was granted, and on November 9 it was announced that Robert Douglas had been called. He accepted the invitation, and was ordained on May 31, 1797. No notice of the transaction is preserved in the Presbytery record—a circumstance doubtless explained by the remoteness of Stranraer and the difficulties of travel. After a ministry of three years, Douglas died on July 22, 1800. About this time it is noted that in Stranraer there were “two sectaries, Smeatonites and M‘Millanites, but they are not numerous.”

On November moderation was asked for, but the granting of it was delayed till the meeting on March 4, 1801. On October 21, three calls to Adam Brown, including one from Stranraer, came before the Presbytery,

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but he chose Crookedholm. Moderation was not again asked for till March 14, 1804, and on August 15 the Presbytery had to deal with two calls to John Cowan, who accepted Stranraer. He was ordained on November 21. Cowan was Clerk to the Presbytery for a number of years, and died on January 13, 1817.

On May 7, 1817, moderation was granted, and the subsequent call came out in favour of John Osborne, who at a meeting of the Committee of Synod on December 31 preferred Castle-Douglas. It was some time ere the congregation again asked for a decision, but on May 10, 1819, they “harmoniously” elected William Symington, who at the Synod accepted the call. He was ordained on August 18, 1819, “in the presence of an immense crowd, estimated at between four and five thousand, assembled in the burying ground adjoining the meeting-house.” For the next twenty years he did excellent service for the Church and congregation by his scholarship and gift of preaching. He did much to improve the whole outlook of the community towards the Church and what it stood for. In a short time the church proved too small for the large congregations that gathered, and in June 1824 it was taken down, and another built on the same site. It was opened on January 2, 1825. Besides his preachings in the town, Symington held regular services over the county, and the little congregation at New Luce, with its church, probably dates from his time.

In 1839 Dr Symington was called to Great Hamilton Street, Glasgow. His election caused much feeling throughout the Church because it violated what had been the rule regarding the non-transportability of ministers, but the Synod in May upheld the validity of the call, and he was inducted on July 11. The removal of Symington plunged Stranraer into a time of great controversy and difficulty. On January 7, 1840, the Presbytery agreed, at the request of the congregation, that a Belfast minister, Robert J. Watt, should be allowed to conduct services for them, but the rumour of their liking for him caused the Presbytery to refuse moderation on March 10 on the ground that ministers of the Irish Church were ineligible for calls in Scotland. The case was carried to the Synod, which, after a long and anxious debate, upheld the decision of the Presbytery, and at the same time referred to the number of excellent probationers in the home Church. The disappointed appellants replied by declining the authority of Presbytery and Synod. All procedure was accordingly sisted until the declinature was withdrawn, which was done on November 17, when moderation was again granted.

The protesters, however, were not satisfied. A. M. Rogerson was appointed Moderator and conducted the election after the strict, legal form. John Macleod was declared elected, 138 signing the call and 27 adherents. The result was an uproar. The discontented party, which

CONGREGATIONS 33

still desired the Irishman, and claimed to be the majority of the congregation, carried the matter to the Synod, who decided in favour of the Presbytery. On May 14, 1841, Macleod accepted the call and was duly ordained on August 10. Meanwhile the protesters had sought the help of Watt, who came and preached to them. Complaint was made to the Irish Synod, which unequivocally disapproved of his conduct. The malcontents asked to be received as a congregation by the Irish Reformed Presbyterian Synod, but the application was refused. No more is heard of them. Some returned to their allegiance.

Macleod’s ministry was short. On January 9, 1849, he announced his withdrawal from the ministry of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and his resignation was at once accepted. On February 27 moderation was granted, and on March 10 Thomas Easton was elected, the stipend being £120 with a manse. Easton having received two calls, the difficulty was referred to the Synod, when he declined them all. The call to Stranraer, however, was renewed on December 11, and his ordination was fixed for March 19, 1850. The membership then numbered 160.

Easton was conservative, and he and his congregation did what they could to put down voting at elections. Two cases were referred to the Synod in 1853. The people at New Luce became stronger, and in 1854 it was reported that they were willing to pay for monthly supply. When Union with the Free Church became a practical question, both minister and people opposed it. They presented memorials to the Presbytery against it, declaring that the decision in its favour was “an abandonment of the distinctive testimony of the Church.” One of these had a wide circulation in a printed form. So out of touch was Easton with the majority that for a time he absented himself from the Presbytery, and no meeting of the congregation was held to consider the question. In 1875 the membership was 215. When the Union actually took place in 1876, Easton, followed by his congregation, remained aloof. On June 27 a deputation from the Presbytery was appointed to ascertain how matters stood, but all communication with them was refused. The congregation remained alone till the death of Easton in 1887, when they quietly joined the remnant Reformed Presbyterian Synod.

See Introduction to Dr Symington’s Messiah the Prince, 1881.

34 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

DARVEL

Ministers.—A. M. Rogerson, 1810–50; Alexander Young, 1849–61; M. G. Easton, D.D., 1861–94; Robert Bonellie, 1894–1923; J. P. Murdoch, B.D., 1923—.

For some time Darvel formed part of the large congregation of Renfrew and Ayr, which was set up in 1776. A church was built in the village in 1785. Towards the end of the century relations with the rest of the congregation became strained. In 1799 Darvel demanded two-fifths of the whole pulpit supply available, and the Presbytery awarded them one-third. Civil differences emerged between the East and West sides in 1800, and these were referred to arbitration. Darvel was not satisfied with the award and demanded disjunction on March 1801. No record of its being granted is available, but on March 14, 1804, moderation in a call was allowed them. When the call came to be presented they desired that the societies of New Cumnock, distant over 20 miles, should be associated with them.

The first call came before the Presbytery on August 15, 1804. It was to William Goold, but he preferred Edinburgh and Loanhead. On August 13, 1806, the Presbytery dealt with a call to John Westwater, but apparently there was a want of harmony, for no petition in support of it was presented, and on March 4, 1807, it was dropped. On August 17, 1808, Darvel was one of four congregations calling Andrew Symington, who chose Paisley. Success finally came when Archibald M. Rogerson was elected. The call came before the Presbytery on May 7, 1810, but as the Synod was about to be formed, the matter was handed over to the new Western Presbytery. He accepted and was ordained on November 22.

Rogerson probably entered a new manse, for it was erected in 1810. It was added to and improved between 1850 and 1860. The church was rebuilt in 1835. It was removed in 1885 to make way for the present church. Towards 1840 the number of families in connection with the congregation was 89, with 165 members in Darvel and neighbourhood. In 1849 the membership was returned at 160, and the stipend at £80. New Cumnock was disjoined from Darvel on November 22, 1815.

After a painstaking ministry Rogerson passed away in 1850. A colleague had been appointed in 1849—Alexander Young, who began with great promise, but sadly fell away—until his separation from his people in 1861. The same year saw the induction of Matthew G. Easton. He was a scholarly man, and by his manner commended himself to the whole neighbourhood. Until 1882 his congregation was the only one in the village, but in that year the introduction of hymns and paraphrases caused a secession, the dissentients forming an Original Secession con-

CONGREGATIONS 35

gregation. At the Union of 1876 the membership stood at 168. The introduction of the lace industry at that time caused a great increase of the population, and the congregation shared in the added numbers.

PAISLEY

(Oakshaw United Free Church)

Ministers.—Andrew Symington, D.D., 1809–53; George Clazy, 1854–96; James Cables, M.A., 1897—.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, the people residing in Paisley and neighbourhood formed part of the congregation of “the Shire of Renfrewshire.” The centre of the district was at Kilmalcolm. The hardship entailed by this division is obvious, and on August 17, 1803, the whole congregation approached the Presbytery to decree a disjunction between the East and the West sides. Both parties and the minister were heard at great length, and the proposal was delayed to ascertain the ability of the Western portion to maintain themselves financially in a separate condition. On November 9 both sides were still harmonious, but the minister remained doubtful. On March 1804 the matter was again delayed on account of the difficulties which he had and the “alarming aspects of Providence” throughout the country. On August 15, however, Henderson reluctantly consented to the disjunction, although he declared that “his want of clearness in the case” was “likely to affect his public usefulness as a minister of religion.”

It was not till March 5, 1806, that the new congregation was in a position to ask for moderation, and then with practical unanimity they proposed “to introduce the name of the Rev. James Thomson into their leet on account of his supposed inability to labour in his extended charge” in the South. The stipend was to be £80, which was “the least they could offer.” The suggested arrangements, however, broke down through the rule against the transportation of ministers.

On March 9, 1808, moderation in a call at large was granted, and Andrew Symington was unanimously chosen. The call came before the Presbytery on November 9, and those who prosecuted it were instructed to pay Symington “every encouraging attention.” Out of three calls he accepted Paisley. The stipend offered was to be “not less than £110.” Their own church was too small for the ceremony and the ordination, which took place on April 26, 1809, was carried out in the Gaelic Church. The membership at the time was over 100.

The building in which the congregation met was a disused meal-mill, nicknamed the “Girnal,” and the necessity for a new church became apparent soon after Symington’s settlement. The same year a piece of

36 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

ground was purchased for £280, and the old meeting-house was sold for £220. The new church and manse cost £3300, and the debt was not fully paid up till forty years afterwards. The church, which was described as “plain, substantial and unpretentious,” was opened for worship in July 1811. Shortly after the Union of 1876 the interior was remodelled at a cost of £1800.

After Symington’s settlement the membership steadily rose in number till it reached over 300. About 50 withdrew at the time of the Secession in 1863; they met in a hall in New Street, and in 1868 built a church for themselves in Storie Street. A few left at the Union of 1876.

Sabbath schools had long been in existence in the country, but it was not till 1837 that one was begun by the congregation “as a temporary expedient imperatively called for in the present state of society.” The school first met in the hall, then in the church, and in 1876 in the handsome suite of halls in the West Brae, erected as a memorial of Margaret Symington by her husband, William Clark of Newark, New Jersey, U.S.A. Other schools were conducted at Sneddon and Millarston. The number attending rose to 300, with over 30 teachers.

In 1849 home mission work was begun—the first effort in the town—and there was a succession of lay missionaries—Samuel Alison, David Begg, Archibald Trotter, James Murray, and Peter Woodrow. The meetings were first held in Well Brae, then in halls in Wellmeadow and Well Streets. In 1866 the present mission halls were erected at a cost of £500.

In 1853 Professor Symington died, and next year George Clazy was ordained over the congregation. He died in 1896. Since the Union of 1876 the congregation has been known as Oakshaw West.

See Macfie’s Cameronians, Paisley, 1878.

NEW CUMNOCK

(Afton United Free Church)

Ministers.—Matthew Hutchison, 1859–1913; Adam Hamilton, 1900–02; A. G. Campbell, M.A., 1902–13; Thomas Davidson, M.A., 1914–23.

The nucleus of the congregation dates from about 1780 when several Reformed Presbyterian families settled in the neighbourhood. For a time the services were held in the open air, but towards the close of the century a “small meeting house” had been obtained. It continued the place of worship until a new building was erected and opened on March 16, 1868, free of debt.

In 1804 a call was issued to William Goold by Darvel, “in which the people of New Cumnock had concurred,” and at the meeting of Pres-

CONGREGATIONS 37

bytery at which it was sustained, they agreed to petitions from both sides that “they might be united in one congregation.” The union continued till November 22, 1815, when with reluctance New Cumnock agreed to a disjunction, Darvel being able to take the full services of the minister, A. M. Rogerson. Thereafter for nearly the next half century the congregation was directly dependent on the Presbytery for ordinances. Several attempts were made to obtain a minister—notably John Graham in 1832, Andrew Gilmore in 1833, and John Bates on March 25, 1857—but all failed. Ill-health alone prevented the ordination of the last. On May 2, 1859 Matthew Hutchison accepted a unanimous call, signed by 44 members and 11 adherents, and he was ordained on August 3.

Hutchison at once set about improving the condition of the congregation. In 1859 he erected a manse, which in 1872 was declared free of debt, as well as a school and the new church noted above. In 1871 the membership stood at 81, and in 1875 at 94. In 1923 the congregation was united with the Arthur Memorial congregation, and the buildings were sold.

WATER OF URR AND CASTLE-DOUGLAS

Ministers.—John Osborne, 1818–31; Malcolm M‘Lachlan, 1832–45; William Symington, D.D., 1846–59; John Kay, D.D., 1859–71; George Laurie, 1872–1920; Norman Nicolson, M.A., 1914–23; James N. Gourlay, B.D., 1924—.

At the opening of the nineteenth century congregational conditions in the extreme south of Scotland were far from satisfactory. One minister was valetudinary and the other was advanced in years. Steps were accordingly taken to ease the situation by a rearrangement of territory. On March 5, 1805, the minister of Quarrelwood wrote to the Presbytery advising “the Galloway part of Quarrelwood and the lower end of Galloway congregation to unite.” His own people were unwilling to consent, but on August 13, 1806, disjunction on the lines suggested was ordered “instantly.” The division was apparently carried out in March 1807. The congregation thus formed was at first known as Water of Urr, and its centres were at Dalbeattie, Springholm, and Castle-Douglas. First one and then another of these places dropped out, until Castle-Douglas was alone left.

On March 9, 1808, moderation was asked, and on August 17 it was reported that Andrew Symington had been called, but he accepted Paisley. Next year a call was issued to John Sprott, and on May 2 he accepted it. Difficulties immediately emerged, and after much that could not be supported was advanced and considerable wrangling had

38 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

taken place, Sprott retired on July 1, 1811. The Presbytery found it necessary to censure the whole proceedings. Moderation was again granted, and Sprott was again elected, 81 out of a congregation of 185 signing the call. The same contentious spirit manifested itself, and the starting of a new cause was threatened. Ultimately Sprott finally withdrew, July 31, 1815.

Moderation was again granted on April 3, 1817, and on May 27 John Osborne was called. He ultimately accepted on December 31, and was ordained on April 9, 1818, although there was again opposition. In 1820 a church in Castle-Douglas was bought from the Relief congregation: it was frequently altered and improved, and is S. R. Crockett’s “Kirk on the Hill.” On March 5, 1822, Gatehouse of Fleet asked for disjunction or special sermon, and later Mainsriddle, once belonging to the Relief Church, asked supply. Nothing came of these movements.

The course of Osborne’s ministry is indicated in his biographical notice. On March 23, 1831, he was loosed from his charge. On October 12 moderation was asked for, £80 with a possible augmentation being promised. On November 15 a call to Malcolm M‘Lachlan was signed by 74 members and 36 adherents. He had three other calls, but on February 9, 1832, he accepted Urr, and was ordained on May 23. The congregation was again unfortunate in its minister, for on January 28, 1845, he was loosed from his charge. £110 was now promised as stipend, and on November 4 a call, signed by 133, was made to William Symington. Although other congregations were inviting him, he accepted Castle-Douglas, and was ordained there on March 10, 1846. His ministry was very successful and did much to consolidate the congregation. In 1857 he was called to Glasgow. He declined, and his congregation showed their appreciation by making special presentations to him. He was again called to Great Hamilton Street, Glasgow, in 1859, and was translated there on March 3. The membership at the time was 210.

The people met to elect a successor on May 20, and unanimously chose John Kay of Airdrie. He accepted and was inducted on August 11. In 1862 the membership was 250. Originally the manse was a mere cottage, but during Kay’s ministry a new house was built next the church. It was occupied in June 1860. A spire was added to the church in 1870 through the generosity of one of the elders. Kay was called to Coatbridge in 1871, and inducted there on September 24. He was succeeded by George Laurie, whose call was signed by 155 members and 14 adherents. He was ordained on June 6, 1872. He had become known through the excellent service he had rendered as missionary at Dunscore, and his ministry was long and successful. In 1877 the membership was 224.

CONGREGATIONS 39

RIGGSIDE AND DOUGLAS WATER

Ministers.—John Milwain, 1822–59; James Naismith, 1862–70; Nathan Cosh, D.D., 1871–73; Thomas Ramage, 1874–83; John Berry, 1884— ; Samuel D. Stuart, 1916—.

Douglas Water, at first known as Riggside, was one of the earliest centres of the organised Church. John Fairley took up his residence in the near neighbourhood in 1763, and soon afterwards a church, which has long since disappeared, was erected for him. The question of a separate existence for Douglas Water was raised at the close of 1806, when it was reported that the people of the whole district were quite willing to be divided into congregations, but that “the labours of the season had prevented” action. On March 4, 1807, disjunction was granted to Douglas Water from Penpont, to take effect on March 14, neither side to make a financial claim against the other.

Moderation in a call was not asked for until March 6, 1821. It was granted on May 3, and on August 13 it was reported that John Milwain had been elected, the stipend promised being £100 and a house, “if in their power.” He was ordained on January 16, 1822.

In 1843 it was reported that old mining operations had rendered the place of worship unfit for use, and that the proprietor had offered a new site. Help in the construction was commended to the whole Church, and the new building was opened on February 3, 1844. In 1847 the congregation, which was not very strong, was further weakened by the erection of the neighbouring congregation at Lesmahagow. The Presbytery made investigation into the loss sustained in members, and awarded compensation to Douglas Water.

Milwain resigned in 1859, and the congregation was immediately thereafter transferred from the Kilmarnock Presbytery to that of Glasgow. On November 29, 1859, moderation was asked, the stipend promised being £50, “exclusive of manse.” Alexander Davidson was called, 41 members and 49 adherents signing the call, but he declined. When moderation was again asked for the question was referred to the Synod because of the small stipend offered, and the matter was remitted back to the discretion of the Presbytery, who granted the petition on January 14, 1862. James Naismith was elected, and having accepted he was ordained on July 14. His call was signed by 31 members and 11 adherents. His ministry did not continue long, for he died on May 31, 1870.

Considerable difficulty was experienced in allowing the congregation to go forward again, but a promise of £80 and a manse was made and moderation was allowed. On October 9, 1870, Nathan Cosh was elected, but only 24 signed his call, and the Presbytery did not sustain it.

40 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

Moderation was again allowed on January 10, 1871, and Cosh was again elected, the call this time being signed by 82 members and 55 adherents. He accepted it, and was ordained on May 3. Immediately thereafter the congregation was transferred to the Presbytery of Edinburgh. In 1873 Cosh accepted a call to Strathmiglo, and at the moderation on December 17, Thomas Ramage was elected, the call being signed by 96 members and 68 adherents—evidence of the growing prosperity of the congregation. He was inducted on March 3, 1874.

The Union of 1876 brought considerable trouble to the congregation. A minority was opposed to it and desired union with the Church of Scotland. Taking advantage of there being no formal legal title to the ground on which church and manse stood, they pursued an action before the Court of Session, with the result that the congregation was evicted. Ramage resigned in 1883. A new church, opened on May 13, 1886, and a manse were built at Riggside.

AIRDRIE

Ministers.—Thomas Halliday, 1824–27; John Carslaw, M.A., 1829–47; John Kay, D.D., 1850–59; David Henderson, 1860–63; James Paton, D.D., 1865–73; David Berry, 1877–86; Charles Campbell, B.D., 1890—.

With the concurrence of Glasgow, a disjunction of “the corresponding societies in and about Airdrie” was asked for on August 12, 1807. The Presbytery postponed the request lest granting it should increase the difficulties in which the Glasgow people then were. The petitioners, however, insisted, and having acknowledged their pecuniary responsibility towards the minister, they were granted the necessary liberty on November 11 to form themselves into a congregation. They do not then seem to have been in a position to carry out all their desires, for they dropped a petition for moderation in 1810. A meeting for election did not, in fact, take place till April 1816, and then John Jeffrey was called. He declined. On December 2, 1817, an invitation to John Osborne was referred to a committee of Synod, but it was again declined. In 1818 the minimum stipend was promised, and William Symington was called in the spring of the following year, but he also declined. Some time was allowed to elapse before the next attempt was made, and on August 13, 1821, it was reported that John Milwain had been chosen. The stipend named was £80 with a house. The attempt was again futile, but on May 11, 1824, Thomas Halliday accepted the call and was ordained on August 23.

Halliday’s ministry was short, but strenuous and fruitful. He died after labouring for three years, and was followed by John Carslaw, M.A., who was ordained in 1829. The latter part of his ministry was hindered

CONGREGATIONS 41

by ill-health. The church was built in 1833. In 1835 there arose in the congregation the question of the continued attendance of members at the fellowship meetings. The matter was referred to the Presbytery, who unequivocally declared that it was their duty to be present, unless “some physical or moral impossibility stand in the way!” Some conflict arose in the session in 1837, but the matter was settled by a rebuke to both sides from the Presbytery. In 1847 the membership stood at 180.

After the death of Carslaw the congregation was visited by the Presbytery, and the report stated that they were in the “enjoyment of internal peace, increasing in membership and altogether in a thriving state.” Moderation was granted to them for January 30, 1849, and after a vote among three candidates, Thomas Easton was chosen, the stipend to be £100 with the manse. The call was not presented till March 12, but two other congregations were seeking him, and all were referred to the Synod. At the Synod Easton declined them all, though he accepted Stranraer within a year.

On January 15, 1850, a vote was taken between three candidates, one of whom was Easton. A considerable majority came out for John Kay, who accepted the call and was ordained on April 29. For a time a missionary laboured in a neighbouring village under the superintendence of the congregation. In 1859 Kay left for Castle-Douglas, where he was inducted on August 11. David Henderson of Chirnside was chosen in his room, and was inducted on June 5, 1860. The call was signed by 157 members and 65 adherents, and the stipend offered was £135.

During his settlement the congregation favoured the stricter view of the electoral franchise, and in 1862 petitioned the Synod against the overture in its favour. Before the actual vote, the session sent no return concerning it, but when the division took place in 1863 and resulted favourably, Henderson with certain of his people declined the jurisdiction of the Synod and Presbytery, and helped to constitute the minority Synod. They retained the property. On June 15 Henderson was declared no longer a minister of the Church.

On June 3, 1863, twenty male members, representing “a large and influential part” of the congregation, petitioned that the Presbytery take their deserted condition into consideration. The Presbytery met with them in Grahamstown school, after they had been refused admission to the church. They were then told that they were still recognised by the Presbytery as the Airdrie congregation. In the beginning of 1864 they asked that a student or probationer should be appointed to labour among them, and at the same time craved help in building a new church. A committee of the Presbytery reported that there was “the prospect of rendering their present place of worship more comfortable,” and the congregation meanwhile departed from the proposal.

42 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

On January 10, 1865, moderation was asked for, the stipend promised being £80. On March 14 James Paton, B.A., was called, and having accepted he was ordained on June 1 in the Music Hall, where the congregation was at the time worshipping. In 1866 they purchased a church for £400, which in February was nearly destroyed by fire while under repair. It was opened for worship on April 1, after £400 had been spent on alterations. By 1868 the membership had increased to 240. In that year a manse was begun at a cost of £700.

In 1870 several left to form a congregation at Coatbridge, which Airdrie fostered and encouraged. After a time Paton became dissatisfied with his doctrinal position, and in 1873 made application for admission to the Church of Scotland, without previously giving notice of his intention to his Presbytery. At the next meeting of Presbytery on March 11 he resigned. At least 250 members followed him to set up what became the quoad sacra parish church of Flowerhill. About 75 were left, and although placed in most discouraging circumstances they, on January 29, 1874, called Robert Naismith of Chirnside. He declined the invitation. Up till the Union of 1876 they remained without a minister, Allan Bayne and John Leitch, a Free Church student, ministering to them. On January 16, 1877, David Berry, late of Wick, was inducted as their minister. In 1877 the membership was 78. They are now known as Graham Street United Free Church.

COLMONELL

Ministers.—John West, 1813–45; Robert Harkness, 1847–57; John Torrance, 1859–61.

The definite date on which the recognition of Colmonell or Poundland as a congregation was made cannot be ascertained. In 1810 the members complained to the newly constituted Southern Presbytery that they could not get sufficient supply, and asked permission to approach other Presbyteries to help them, a course which was allowed. On March 4, 1812, “the vacant congregation of Colmonell and Girvan” asked for moderation, and on June 29 it was reported that a call had come out in favour of John West. On March 3, 1813, he accepted and was ordained on August 11. The congregation was both small and scattered. Its centre was at Poundland, where a church was built.

West continued minister till his death in 1845. During that time little agitated the even course of the congregation’s history, but in 1828 there appears to have been some discussion about “reading the line.” The matter was referred to the Synod, who decreed the inadvisability of legislation and recommended the congregation to take the course most

CONGREGATIONS 43

expedient “for edification.” Following on West’s death the section at Girvan was disjoined. On October 14, 1845, William Symington was called, 70 signing the call, but he accepted Castle-Douglas. Next year they again applied for moderation, but the manse that had been promised was not provided, and the stipend of £100 offered fell below the minimum. A special meeting of the Presbytery with the congregation was arranged on October 27, 1846, and then the debt still remaining on the church was at once subscribed, and the minimum stipend guaranteed. As a result Robert Harkness was called by 71 members and 25 adherents, and accepted the invitation on December 7. He was ordained on March 23, 1847.

His ministry was comparatively short, and towards the end was carried on amid increasing difficulty. In 1850 the membership was given as 95, and the manse had not yet been built. On February 22, 1853, the Presbytery instructed that an organisation for raising the necessary funds be set on foot, but although attempts were made to improve conditions they failed, and Harkness resigned on June 29, 1857. On July 22, 1858, John Torrance was elected. He accepted the meagre conditions and was ordained on January 18, 1859. Soon afterwards he was called to St George’s Road, Glasgow, and the Presbytery decided not to present the call. An appeal was taken to the Synod, but before it could be discussed another call was addressed to him from Paisley. At the Synod he accepted Glasgow on May 9, 1861.

Moderation again took place on August 6, £60 and a manse being offered. George Proudfoot was called, but he declined.

Thereafter the congregation seems to have fallen to pieces. The Presbytery of Newton-Stewart, to which it was attached, repeatedly made enquiries about its condition, but little notice was taken of the demands. In 1871 Easton of Girvan was formally relieved of the moderatorship, in which office he had been able to do nothing, and in March 1872 they asked that no further supply be sent to them. At the Synod of that year it was reported that no elder had represented the congregation for the past ten years, and in 1873 it was transferred to the care of the Kilmarnock Presbytery. Nothing, however, could be done. On October 7, 1873, a deputation reported that it was “inexpedient to attempt to revive what had been for a series of years practically a defunct congregation,” and it was formally dissolved on January 27, 1874. A month or two afterwards it was reported that the title-deeds of the property had been lost, and that church and manse were practically without value. Enquiry was made regarding them by a local lawyer, but it was determined to abandon all claim to them.

44 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

EAGLESHAM

Ministers.—Robert Winning, M.A., 1826–56; John H. Thomson, 1857–77.

Eaglesham, distant about eight miles from Glasgow and within four miles of the Howies’ farm of Lochgoin, formed part of the congregation of Sandhills and Glasgow. With the concurrence of the original congregation, the people at Eaglesham and its neighbourhood petitioned the Western Presbytery to be erected into a separate congregation, which was at once granted on March 2, 1818. Moderation in a call was at the same time asked for, but the Presbytery delayed the application. Sanction was given on March 1, 1819, and on May 11 it was reported that Peter M‘Indoe had been elected. He, however, chose Chirnside. It was not till April 27, 1826, that moderation was again granted, and on May 22 Robert Winning was unanimously elected. He accepted the call and was ordained on August 29, the ceremony being carried out in the fields. The sermon preached by Armstrong in introducing Winning to his congregation is printed in the Armstrong Memorial Volume of 1838.

The congregation was largely drawn from the neighbouring county of Ayrshire, and at the redistribution of congregations in 1834 it was apportioned to the Presbytery of Paisley. Winning remained minister until his death on November 15, 1856. His decease was reported to the January meeting of the Presbytery, and by a fatal coincidence the representative elder from Eaglesham had a sudden seizure at the meeting and immediately expired.

Moderation was granted on July 21, 1857, and on August 25 John H. Thomson was elected, 52 members and 40 adherents signing the call. He accepted the call and was ordained on November 3. In 1863 two elders resigned office because of the decision of the Synod on the question of the franchise. The change in the population reduced the membership, which in 1870 was 46 and in 1873, 40. In 1875 a call to Thomson from Stirling was refused, and he continued till November 6, 1877, when he was inducted to Hightae, the membership being then 49. The Union of 1876 had altered the situation for the congregation, and it was dissolved on January 13, 1878, the property being sold.

CONGREGATIONS 45

EDINBURGH

Ministers.—William Goold, 1818–44; W. H. Goold, D.D., 1840–97; John Davidson, M.A., 1896–1905; John Park Noble, 1906–9; R. L. Jaffrey, M.A., 1909–10; William Hood, 1911–18; G. W. Dalgleish, M.A., 1919–24.

For many years the Reformed Presbytery avoided the large towns, and located their congregations in the country. About the beginning of the nineteenth century, however, the restriction imposed on the growth of the Church was realised, and a general movement was made to occupy the towns.

On February 27, 1816, the adherents of the Church in Edinburgh asked the Presbytery to disjoin them from Loanhead, but both then and on subsequent occasions, the petition was refused on the ground that probationers were few and that charges could not be multiplied. At last on March 31, 1818, it was declared that disjunction would be allowed on condition that they were able to maintain themselves apart. On June 29 the division was effected, and Edinburgh became a separate congregation. Goold was continued as minister, and Loanhead was declared vacant. The preponderance of the Edinburgh section is shown by the fact that, when William Goold was called in 1804, 54 of the total of 79 signing the call were from the city.

The church in which the congregation worshipped was situated in Lady Lawson’s Wynd, and was built in 1781. It had originally belonged to the dissenters who broke off from the Presbytery in 1753 under John Hall. On the collapse of that congregation, it was bought in 1797 by a congregation of Relief, and they in turn sold it to Goold’s congregation in 1808 for £450. In 1835, £200 of the price still remained unpaid, and it was then declared unsafe. It was determined to rebuild it on the same site at a cost of £850, thereby leaving the congregation indebted for £1050. By 1847 all debt had been repaid, but new calamity was in store. Subsidence of the site took place, and in 1859 the congregation began the erection of a new church on a stance in George IV Bridge, at a total cost of £4100. It was opened for worship on January 6, 1861. Much was made of the fact that it was in close contiguity with certain historic sites in the near neighbourhood—the Greyfriars’ Churchyard and the Grassmarket, both of which were intimately connected with Covenanting history.

The start of the congregation in Edinburgh was disturbed for a time by some controversies. After much discussion the grievance of one member was dismissed as “frivolous and vexatious,” and the other did not come to an end for seven years, and then resulted in the member’s suspension. The ministry of Goold continued until the advance of years rendered his service difficult to himself. In 1840 his son was unanimously

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called to be his successor, and he was ordained on October 6—a course which was specially pleasing to the congregation. The colleagueship lasted only for a short time, for the father died on July 1, 1844, and from that date till the Union of 1876 Dr W. H. Goold remained sole pastor. In 1875 the membership was 300.

It is apparent that home mission operations met with some difficulty. “For several years a missionary was maintained for the district in connection with the former church in Lady Lawson’s Wynd,” but changes in the area, as well as the setting down of a Free Church in its neighbourhood, dictated withdrawal. Efforts were made to secure another locality, but none was found unoccupied.

From 1863 to 1876 the Hall, under Dr Goold and Dr Binnie, met in the church premises, and the Synod held their meetings there alternately with Glasgow from 1825 till the end. It was from Martyrs’ Church, as it came to be known, that the procession set out to consummate the Union with the Free Church in 1876. Professor Laidlaw became a member of the congregation on his election to a chair in the New College in 1881. In 1909 a union was effected with the congregation of St John’s United Free Church, whose building was taken by the Free Church.

See Jubilee Services of Rev. W. H. Goold, D.D., Edin., 1890.

KELSO

Ministers.—Stewart Bates, D.D., 1823–38; James Bryden, 1840–50; John Guy, 1853–67.

The relations between Chirnside and Kelso up to 1820 have been described under Chirnside. On May 2 of that year Chirnside petitioned to be separated from Kelso, and after some delay and opposition on the part of the latter, they were finally disjoined on July 17. On May 1, 1821, moderation was granted to Kelso, and on August 13 it was reported that a call had “come out” for John Milwain, the stipend offered being £80. Milwain declined. No further movement was made till 1823, when it was reported to the Presbytery on April 8 that Stewart Bates had been chosen. After some difficulty about his status, he accepted the call and was ordained on December 17. Elders were immediately required, and it is curious that on May 16, 1824, the Presbytery ordered M‘Indoe of Chirnside to carry out the necessary ordination. Some complaint about an overpayment to M‘Indoe as minister was made about the same time, but on investigation the Presbytery found that substantial justice had been done. In 1832 a station seems to have been opened at Leitholm.

It is apparent that the congregation had possessed a church for a considerable time. In 1825 the “Cameronian meeting-house” is described

CONGREGATIONS 47

as “a building of inferior appearance and adjacent to the Relief meeting-house. The number in this connection,” the account goes on, “is small and generally composed of the poorer classes.” In 1840 the New Statistical Account gives the accommodation at 320, and the number of persons attending at 66.

In 1838 Bates was called to Glasgow, and was loosed from Kelso. Next April the congregation undertook to provide £70 as stipend besides a free house and garden, and moderation was granted. On May 14 it was reported that Dr John Cunningham had been elected minister, but next day he refused the call. On March 10, 1840, a unanimous invitation to James Bryden was sustained, and after it had been referred to the Synod, he was ordained on July 13. In 1846 trouble arose about his health, and for the next few years his situation was precarious. At length he was certified as medically unfit for the charge, and on May 6, 1850, the pastoral tie was dissolved.

It was not till February 28, 1853 that John Guy was called. He was ordained on June 15, but work in the congregation had become increasingly difficult. Many of the members lived ten to sixteen miles from Kelso. In 1867 Guy accepted a call to Valparaiso. When he left, the congregation resolved to dissolve as soon as possible, at first determining to transfer the whole property to the Church on behalf of certain funds. The church was sold for £170 and the manse for £425. On April 7, 1869, it was reported to the Presbytery that the congregation had formally dissolved, and that £550 had been forwarded to the Treasurer of the Synod for an annuity to Bryden. The members joined neighbouring congregations of various denominations.

WHITHORN

Ministers.—Gavin Rowatt, 1826–32; William M‘Murtrie, 1837–38; Thomas M‘Indoe, 1840–63; D. D. Robertson, 1866–72; Walter R. Paton, 1872–76.

Disjunction was granted to the people in this section of Wigtonshire on March 5, 1822, after the matter had been pending for some months, and was allowed on condition that it “would not interfere with the temporal support” of the former minister, James Reid of Newton-Stewart. At the same time the Presbytery decreed that the following parishes be assigned to the new congregation: Glasserton, Mochrum, Kirkinner, Sorbie, and Whithorn. The church was then in course of erection. On September 15, 1823, moderation was granted, £80 and a manse not yet built being promised. Thomas Halliday was elected but he accepted Airdrie. Next William M‘Lachlan was tried, but he chose Kilmalcolm. On February 21, 1826, moderation was again granted, and

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on April 4 it issued in a unanimous call to Gavin Rowatt, over 100 adherents adding their names to the invitation. He was ordained on September 13.

After a short ministry Rowatt died on November 2, 1832, and it was not till September 9 of the following year that moderation was again granted. Several ineffective calls were issued—to Peter Carmichael, John M‘Dermid, and Thomas M‘Indoe. Under so many disappointments, it is not to be wondered at that the communications to the Presbytery became somewhat tart, and drew from them a rebuke. At last on February 14, 1837, William M‘Murtrie accepted a call with the signatures of 95 members and 36 adherents. He was ordained on April 19. The ministry of M‘Murtrie was short; he died on October 6, 1838. After an interval the congregation again turned to M‘Indoe, who by this time had been released from Dundee, and having accepted the call at the meeting of Synod, he was inducted on June 23, 1840. At the Disruption of 1843 the Free Church congregation worshipped for a time in the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the afternoons.

Never very prosperous financially, the condition of the congregation became embarrassed in 1860, owing to the falling off in the number of members. In 1863 sanction was asked for a reduction of stipend which M‘Indoe was willing to accept. A petition of November of that year spoke of “the present helpless condition and depressing circumstance of the congregation”—all which was evidently due to the continued ill-health of the minister. By the end of the year he offered to withdraw, although it was not possible to provide a retiring allowance for him. The proposal was regarded as a resignation, and the church was declared vacant. M‘Indoe considered himself aggrieved by this haste, and on appeal to the Synod it was declared that he retained his full status as a minister, although he was not restored to the pastorate.

On March 7, 1865, it was reported that Matthew Brown was called by 52 members and 28 adherents, but he chose Hightae. On October 24, D. D. Robertson accepted a call signed by 56 members, and he was ordained on March 21, 1866. Robertson developed some difficulties and scruples about his theological and ecclesiastical position, and he resigned on June 6, 1872. Moderation was granted for October 14, when Walter R. Paton was unanimously called, £80 and a manse being promised.

The congregation was on the whole unfavourable to the Union with the Free Church, and in 1876 considered “it would be inadvisable to appoint a representative elder to the Presbytery.” When the Union was consummated attempts were made to bring about an understanding, but negotiations failed, and Paton resigned. After he left efforts were still made to afford supply to such members as remained faithful to the Synod, but nothing could be done. The congregation ultimately joined the

CONGREGATIONS 49

minority Synod, and in 1878 the well-known J. P. Struthers, afterwards of Greenock, was ordained minister over it. It has since been discontinued.

KILBIRNIE

Ministers.—James Ferguson, 1827–62; P. M. Martin, 1863–69; Alexander Davidson, 1870–1904; Henry T. Gillison, B.D., 1902–19; James Anderson, M.A., 1920—.

For some time those who belonged to the societies of Dalry, Beith, Kilbirnie and Lochwinnoch formed part of the large congregation of Renfrew, under the charge of Thomas Henderson. Towards the beginning of the eighteenth century a movement was set on foot to obtain a disjunction, and even to build a church. Nothing was actively done, however, during Henderson’s lifetime, but on his death in 1823 endeavour was again made to be disjoined. This was effected on January 13, 1824, at a meeting of Presbytery held at Crookedholm. The new congregation at once met to elect suitable managers, and on July 18 a session was constituted.

In January 1826 application was made for moderation, and on February 22 it was reported to the Presbytery that Gavin Rowatt had been unanimously elected, the membership being 36. At the Synod he chose Whithorn out of four possible calls open to him. James Ferguson was elected on April 26, the call being signed by 52 members and 108 adherents. He accepted and was ordained on September 5, 1827. A church, seated for 480, had meantime been built and opened for worship on April 20, 1825. A manse was provided in 1830. It was a small cottage and has been added to and improved since.

In 1841 it was reported that the membership was 130, that the congregation vigorously carried on Sabbath school work in the town, and that a good library was in operation. The debt on the church had been cleared off, and in 1844 the remaining amount on the manse was met. A division took place in 1845 over the unfermented wine question, and a few members were lost. Ferguson died suddenly in 1862.

On February 17, 1863, the congregation elected P. M. Martin, and he chose Kilbirnie over Carnoustie and Girvan. He was ordained on April 16. After a successful ministry he became dissatisfied and resigned on January 15, 1869. He removed to England.

On December 23 James Hunter, B.D., was elected by a majority, but he declined the call. On April 20, 1870, Alexander Davidson was unanimously called from Orkney, the call being signed by 123 members and 65 adherents. He was inducted on July 7. During Davidson’s ministry

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the manse was added to and a new church built on the old site. It was opened in 1889. The membership at the close of Martin’s ministry dropped to the average number. In 1875 it was 166, but had nearly doubled by 1900.

See Couper’s Kilbirnie West, 1923.

STRATHMIGLO

Ministers.—Thomas Martin, 1829–79; Nathan Cosh, D.D., 1873–85; Charles Davidson, 1886–99; J. M. Munro, 1900–22; J. T. Boag, M.A., 1921—.

The origin of the congregation at Strathmiglo was due to the settlement of a member of the Church as a merchant at Auchtermuchty, less than two miles distant, in 1821. He was an ardent Covenanter, but he had difficulty in attending public worship, for the nearest places at which it was celebrated according to his sense of decorum were at Perth and occasionally at Thornton in Fife. He gained over to his way of thinking several in the community, and in 1823 Peter M‘Indoe, then a licentiate, was commissioned to preach to them. He was unable to go, and Stewart Bates, who had recently come from Ireland, took his place. Such were the favourable circumstances and the impression Bates left, that on March 16, 1824, a letter was read at the meeting of the Edinburgh Presbytery stating that “a numerous and respectable accession had lately been made to the Society of Old Dissenters and soliciting as large a supply of sermon as possible.” It is apparent that they were at once given the position of a regular congregation.

On March 6, 1826, Gavin Rowatt was unanimously chosen minister, but, as other calls were given him, the matter was referred to the Synod, at which he accepted Whithorn. It was not till March 30, 1829, that another meeting of the congregation was held to elect a minister. Thomas Martin was then unanimously chosen. He accepted the call on April 21, and was ordained on July 28, 1829.

In 1828 a church was erected, but it was most inconveniently situated, and in 1850 was in need of extensive repairs. In that year it was determined to build a new one on a more convenient site in the centre of the village. It was opened on April 18, 1852, having cost upwards of £500 and being seated for 400. The sum of £300 had already been raised, and the amount derived from the sale of the old building left the congregation in debt only to the extent of about £60. That amount was extinguished in 1857. The membership was 130 in 1847, and the stipend £80 with £6 in lieu of a manse. In 1858 the roll had risen to 135 and the stipend to £115 without any extra sum. The congregation was always liberal and in funds.

CONGREGATIONS 51

After a ministry extending over forty-four years Martin asked for a colleague, and on June 19, 1873, Nathan Cosh of Douglas Water was unanimously chosen, the stipend offered being £125. He was inducted on September 4. In 1875 the membership stood at 130. At the Union of 1876 the congregation was named the North Free Church, and in 1899 united with another congregation of the same denomination in the village.

GREENOCK—FIRST

Ministers.—Andrew Gilmour, 1833–59; Peter Carmichael, 1860–63.

The death of Thomas Henderson, minister at Kilmalcolm, was considered a suitable occasion by the members of that congregation resident in Greenock and neighbourhood to ask for a disjunction. The request “under protest” came before the Western Presbytery on November 9, 1824, but the matter was postponed. Apparently negotiations ensued, for on May 17, 1825, by mutual arrangement disjunction was granted, just before a call was issued to a successor at Kilmalcolm. No immediate steps were taken to call a minister, and at the beginning of 1826 two members of Presbytery were commissioned to enquire into the condition of the congregation. The result was that moderation was delayed. In 1827 two elders were ordained. Subsequent proceedings are uncertain from a gap in the Presbytery minutes, but on September 10, 1833, Andrew Gilmour was ordained. Two days before, a church was opened for public worship by Dr Andrew Symington. This building served the congregation as long as it remained in connection with the Synod.

Under Gilmour’s ministry the congregation grew in numbers. Its peace was seriously disturbed for a number of years by the litigious conduct of a member whose case was before the Courts of the Church for the long period of sixteen years, and was ended only by his repudiation of the authority of the Presbytery. Gilmour died in 1859.

Moderation took place on December 28, £200 being offered as stipend. A. M. Symington was called, but he declined. Another attempt to secure his services was made on April 18, 1860, the call being signed by 206 members and 51 adherents, but he again declined. On July 3 a call was addressed to Peter Carmichael of Penpont, signed by 161 members and 57 adherents. The Presbytery sustained the call although a large number of members, who ultimately formed the second congregation, objected. He was inducted on October 17, 1860. The Treasurer was one of those who seceded, and some trouble was caused by the state of his accounts, but the matter was ultimately arranged.

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Carmichael sided with the minority in 1863, and disowned the authority of the Presbytery. The name of the congregation was then dropped from the list after some unsatisfactory proceedings.

HIGHTAE

Ministers.—James M‘Gill, 1829–64; Matthew Brown, 1865–77; John H. Thomson, 1877–1901; Charles Davidson, 1900–4; J. E. M‘Intyre, M.A., 1905–11; William Johnstone, M.A., 1911–15; George Paterson, 1916–20; Andrew Scobie, B.D., 1921—.

The congregation of Hightae originally belonged to the Relief, with which they were connected till 1808. In that year they joined the Reformed Presbyterian congregation of Quarrelwood, which at the same time took over a small debt belonging to them. The church, which was built in 1798, was bought for £70 and was seated for 325. “When the house was purchased . . . it had neither a pulpit nor pews, and was neither plastered nor floored. . . . Thomson [the minister of Quarrelwood] made the pulpit with his own hands.” Societies were in existence in Moffat, Annan, Mousewald and Torthorwald. In 1827 the Moffat societies asked for a disjunction, and a line “between St Anne’s Bridge and Johnstone Church” was agreed upon as the line of division, but the whole proposal was ultimately dropped. Up to 1829 the Hightae people were ministered to both from Quarrelwood and Penpont. In that year they applied for moderation, promising £70 as stipend. The Presbytery granted moderation on condition that the sum was increased to £80, and on April 22 James M‘Gill was called. Having accepted, he was ordained on July 21, 1829. “In 1836 the communicants numbered 112 and were drawn from fourteen different parishes, thirty families coming more than four miles.” In 1837 the congregation is described as “a mere handful,” there being “only 37 Cameronians in the parish” of Hightae. M‘Gill proved an acceptable pastor. In 1837 he was called to West Campbell Street, Glasgow, and in 1853 to the Southern congregation in the same city. His service lasted till 1864, when he resigned.

In 1865 moderation was asked for, the stipend offered being £90 at least. A manse was promised as soon as possible. On March 6 Matthew Brown was elected, the call being signed by 68 members. He accepted on condition that the manse should be ready by Whitsunday, 1866. He was ordained on May 2. The manse, which was built next the church, cost £600, and the modernising of the church £260. A debt of £200 remained in 1870, but it was practically wiped out by a bazaar held in that year. In 1874 Brown’s health broke down, and during his leave

CONGREGATIONS 53

of absence David Berry, late of Wick, took his place and acted as moderator of session. Brown’s return is reported on September 1, 1875.

In 1914 the congregation was united with Dalton United Free Church to form Hightae and Dalton congregation.

ROTHESAY

Ministers.—Thomas Neilson, M.A., 1830–68; Allan M‘Dougall, M.A., 1870–75.

In the Presbytery minutes Rothesay appears in 1827 for the first time as one of the stations to which preaching was assigned. At the end of that year a petition, “subscribed by eight persons,” asked for regular monthly supply, and the request was granted. Progress was such that the Presbytery agreed to moderate in a call on December 9, 1829. Thomas Neilson was chosen and was ordained in 1830.

During its whole history the congregation continued small, the average membership being considerably under 100. Owing to the limited duty required Neilson was enabled to render important service to the Church at large. He resigned on May 25, 1868, and the congregation was preached vacant in June. The stipend offered was £100. On October 6 it was reported that John Jackson of Girvan had been called by 45 members and 31 adherents, but he refused. The condition in which the congregation then was raised the question of its continuance, but on January 5, 1869, the Synod expressed satisfaction “at their desire to maintain ordinances among them, and to remain in connection with the Synod.” It is evident that there was difficulty, and for a time the people were content with the services of a missionary. On September 1, 1869, it was reported that Alexander Davidson of Stromness had been called by 44 members and 16 adherents, but he declined. A third call was issued on November 8, 1869, this time to Allan M‘Dougall, 42 members and 28 adherents signing it. He did not accept till May 17, and he was ordained on June 9. All this time the membership was slowly dwindling. In 1870 it was 62; in 1873 it was 54.

In 1875 M‘Dougall was appointed a missionary to the New Hebrides, and his removal rendered the position impossible. The Presbytery agreed to take over the property, subject to a small bond, and on November 23, 1875, the congregation was dissolved. In 1880 the Free Parish congregation acquired the church for £300, and now uses it for mission purposes.

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AYR

Ministers.—Joseph Henderson, 1830–44; John Graham, D.D., 1846–58; David Taylor, 1859–61; Thomas Lang, 1861–1919; Donald Davidson, 1905—.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century Ayr was counted part of the Kilmarnock congregation, and separate supply of sermon does not seem to have been granted to it till November 4, 1828. Thereafter progress towards congregating was rapid. On January 13, 1830, moderation was allowed on condition that “the moderator [in the vacancy] was furnished with extracts from the books of the congregations at Kilmarnock and Ayr showing that the boundaries have been determined to the satisfaction of the congregations before he proceed to moderate in a call.” It is evident that things were adjusted satisfactorily, for on February 18 a call was offered to Thomas Nelson. At the Synod of that year he had to make choice among three calls, and he accepted Rothesay. On the same day moderation was again granted, and on May 4 Joseph Henderson was elected. He was ordained on September 8, 1830.

At the time the congregation was described as “few in number and poor.” At first they had a temporary place of worship at the foot of Contest Street in the district of Wallacetown, but in 1832 a church was built and opened in the same quarter of the town. Up to the end this was the only property possessed by the congregation. On April 16, 1844, the resignation of Henderson was accepted, and he was loosed from his charge.

It was not till August 13, 1846, that John Graham, who received the degree of D.D. during his ministry at Ayr, was inducted. The case had to come before the Synod before the induction was carried out, owing to the aversion from translations. The Synod allowed it “owing to the peculiar circumstances of the congregation.” The stipend was £100, augmented by £20 from the Synod Fund. The congregation does not appear to have made substantial progress during Graham’s ministry, for the membership in 1850 numbered 90 only. On March 10, 1858, he was inducted to the new congregation at Liverpool. It shows the esteem in which he was held that he was brought back in October to receive a presentation.

The ministry of David Taylor, his successor, was short. He was called on January 10, 1859, 70 members and 15 adherents signing the call. He was ordained on March 29, but in a little over two years he accepted an invitation to the second charge at Greenock. He was inducted there on October 16, 1861. During this time the membership was slowly declining, and only 60 members and 20 adherents signed the call to Thomas H. Lang on October 31. He accepted and was ordained

CONGREGATIONS 55

on December 18. He continued minister till the Union of 1876, when the membership had fallen to 40. Lang took an active share in the evangelical efforts of 1873-4, and with the growth of the town he had the satisfaction of seeing an increased membership. In 1900 the number on the roll was 190. In 1904 the congregation, which had taken the name of “Martyrs,” was united with St John’s United Free congregation, and Lang retired.

DUNDEE

Ministers.—Thomas M‘Indoe, 1836–39; Joseph Wilson, 1840–47; William Stevenson, 1852–58; John Riddell, B.A., 1864–67; John Wylie, 1869–93; Alexander Osborne, M.A., 1894–1906; A. H. Charlton, 1907–23; James Lamont, 1924—.

There were adherents of the Church in Dundee as early as the close of the eighteenth century, and in conjunction with Perth they were granted such supply as was possible. The cause, however, seems to have fallen somewhat into abeyance, until in 1827 application was made for services, and thereafter Dundee was looked upon as a regular station. One elder resided in the town, and when a session was required in April 1831, elders were brought from Strathmiglo to constitute it. In the same month the people asked to be congregated, and thereafter they were so erected, although there is no minute of their formal constitution. On October 11 they applied for moderation, offering £80 of stipend, and all above that sum to be given as a contribution towards the building of a meeting-house. On November 7, 1831, they elected Malcolm M‘Lachlan, but he chose Castle-Douglas. On November 6, 1831, they again asked for moderation, but it was delayed until they “make some further exertion for obtaining a place of worship.” A year afterwards, on November 22, they opened a meeting-house which they had rented. One of the preachers afterwards was Alexander Shand, a probationer of whose unedifying sermons they complained, with the result that, along with a younger brother who was a student at the time, he abandoned the Church.

On July 28, 1834, moderation was granted on condition that the minimum stipend was provided. The meeting for election took place on September 30, and Peter Carmichael was chosen. Other calls were also given him, and he accepted Penpont. On April 8, 1835, another effort was made to secure a minister, £80 of stipend and a free house being promised; John M‘Dermid was called. He accepted Dumfries, and in that year the Synod recommended a grant in aid if there was any possibility of the settlement of a minister. On April 20, 1836, the Presbytery sustained a call to Thomas M‘Indoe, and although there were

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competing calls, he closed with Dundee on May 24. He was ordained at Chapelshade on October 12. In the same year a site for a church was taken, and although strongly advised by the Presbytery to desist, on account of the expense, the congregation proceeded to build their meeting-place, with a flat of shops beneath.

All along the financial position of the congregation weighed heavily on it, and on May 14, 1839, permission was given to issue an appeal for help. In December of that year the crisis came, and M‘Indoe resigned, because his stipend had not been paid for some time. The total income of the congregation for three years had been only £208. The Presbytery found that the root cause of the trouble was the building of a church “contrary to their advice.” By this time the structure had cost £840, of which £576 was still awanting. The interest on this sum, together with the feu-duty, entailed an annual burden of nearly £50. There being no prospect of improvement, the resignation was accepted.

On May 10, 1841, the congregation had so far recovered that Joseph Wilson was allowed to be called on condition that an adequate stipend should be provided for him. The Synod, to whom the call was referred, sustained it, and “as elders in the court [i.e., the Synod] have liberally subscribed to the support of the congregation,” grants in aid were made for the next four years. Wilson was ordained on July 28, and continued minister till April 7, 1847, when he resigned on the ground of “inadequate [financial] support.” The Presbytery then ordered an investigation into the condition of the congregation, when it appeared that a heavy debt of £650 was over the church, that its stability was insecure, and that litigation over it was probable. The church as it stood was worth £150 only. The membership had increased from 46 to 68. Amid all that they found to discourage, they confessed that there was no want of zeal for the principles of a Covenanted Reformation among the members. On the case being referred to the Synod of 1847, Wilson’s resignation was accepted, and he was loosed from his charge on July 8.

On April 12, 1848, moderation was again asked for, but it was not granted. A year afterwards it was allowed, but there was serious difficulty in doing so. On May 7 a call to Alexander Young was sustained, but he accepted another. Nothing more was done till August 1851, when they applied for moderation on a promise of £50 towards stipend. The Synod recommended a temporary appointment, and William Stevenson, late of Stirling, was employed. Such progress was made under his ministry, that on April 19, 1852, he was called to the vacant pulpit, 60 members and 28 adherents signing the call. He accepted and was inducted on June 10.

For a time the congregation had been deprived of their place of worship, because of the debt on it, but on November 28, 1852, it was

CONGREGATIONS 57

restored to them. In 1855 they were again removed from it by the bondholder calling up the bonds. This event was, however, to their advantage, for it cleared them of a heavy load of debt. The loss to those who had guaranteed the bonds was heavy, but a subscription throughout the Church mitigated its severity. The congregation was at length “united, enjoy peace, and free of debt.” The erection of a new church at Hawkhill was undertaken, and it was opened free of debt on February 3, 1856. Amid many signs of prosperity, there was an unfortunate relapse in conduct on the part of the minister, and he was loosed from his charge on March 2, 1858.

During the next five years Dundee was without a minister. Robert Naismith was appointed to work among them, and on June 20, 1860, was called, but he declined. In 1862 the congregation was reduced to a Home Mission station, and in November 1863 John Riddell was placed in charge. So successful was he that, having been licensed, he was unanimously called as minister on October 17, 1864, the call being signed by 110 members. He was ordained on December 14. In 1868 Riddell seceded to the Free Church, carrying with him a large portion of the congregation. The membership had risen to about 300, and of these 52 still remained. Thereafter the congregation was put under John Wylie, who had had large experience of mission work in Glasgow, and on July 20, 1869, he was unanimously called as minister. He was ordained on August 12, 1869.

This was the end of the period of struggle, for the congregation now began to make rapid strides forward. At the time of the Union of 1876 the membership was over 300, and was still moving upwards. Plans were also being laid for a new church, seating over 1000 and costing £5000. The membership in 1878 was 321, and in 1900, 723.

SANQUHAR

Sanquhar originally formed part of the Penpont congregation. In 1832 “the members in and around Sanquhar” asked for sermon in addition to what they received as part of Penpont, and the request was granted for the next four months. On April 15, 1835, the Presbytery received a petition from those who resided in Sanquhar, Wanlockhead, and Leadhills asking for a disjunction—a proposal that evidently arose out of the settlement of Peter Carmichael at Penpont. Although it was strongly opposed by the parent congregation, the petition was unanimously granted. On appeal being taken to the Synod, the decision was upheld on April 21, 1836. In the same year moderation was allowed, but it does not seem to have been taken advantage of.

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The strain with Penpont continued, and in 1838 reached a climax, when the Synod reversed a conclusion of the Presbytery allowing members liberty to join either congregation on the ground that there were no stated boundaries. The effort of the Sanquhar people to maintain themselves in a separate condition, however, failed, and their name does not appear in the minutes of the Presbytery after 1842. One elder had been ordained.

GLASGOW—WEST CAMPBELL STREET

(Dover Street)

Ministers.—Stewart Bates, D.D., 1838–56; Andrew Clokie, 1858–68; David Taylor, 1869–76.

During the latter half of the ministry of David Armstrong of Great Hamilton Street, dissatisfaction arose regarding the length and quality of his ministrations. An attempt was made to procure a colleague, but the movement failed, and considerable heat was engendered in the dispute. On June 2, 1834, the malcontents met for worship in a hall in the centre of the city. There being no appearance of a reconciliation, and a second congregation being required in the city, the Synod, on April 23, 1838, authorised them to start a new cause in the west. On June 23 it was duly organised, and a church was thereafter built in West Campbell Street.

On July 19, 1836, William Symington of Stranraer was called by 109 members and 81 adherents, but the Synod of the following October failed to sustain the call. On January 17, 1837, James M‘Gill of Hightae was elected, but at the Synod of May he declined the call. On December 27 the congregation turned for a second time to William Symington, but he wrote refusing. On February 20, 1838, Stewart Bates of Kelso was chosen, and owing to the special circumstances of the case the Synod allowed his transportation. He was inducted on July 5.

Bates continued a fruitful and energetic ministry till his death in 1856. On April 20, 1857, John Hamilton was elected to fill the vacancy, the call being signed by 290 members and 72 adherents, but at the following Synod he chose Renton. On April 24, 1858, William Symington of Castle-Douglas was called, but he asked that no further steps be taken in the matter. The result of these repeated disappointments was disorganisation in the congregation, a state that was made worse by the election on August 19, 1858, and the ordination, on December 8, of Andrew Clokie. A number left and formed what was afterwards St George’s Road congregation.

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It is needless tracing the troubled ministry of Clokie, who finally resigned on August 4, 1868, in the midst of a process against him. On January 29, 1869, David Taylor of Greenock was unanimously elected. The reduced state of the congregation is shown by the numbers signing the call—73 members and 12 adherents. The induction took place on March 18, and the recovery made under him is indicated by the fact that the membership in 1875 stood at 236.

The attitude of the congregation to the Union of 1876 is remarkable. Taylor had been Clerk of Presbytery from 1870, and up to the last meeting on May 25 had uttered no objection to the Union. No protest came from the people, who were then busily engaged erecting a new church in Dover Street. Taylor was at the meeting of the May Assembly, sat in the Free Presbytery in June along with a representative elder, and both he and the congregation seceded to the Church of Scotland in August, carrying the property with them. The case was carried to the Law Courts, but the First Division of the Court of Session confirmed the interlocutor of the Lord Ordinary, who had found that the new title-deeds permitted the procedure that had been adopted—a course which the Synod quoad civilia had no difficulty in designating “very unexpected and humiliating” on the part of congregation and minister. The congregation is now known as St Vincent Parish Church.

WICK

Ministers.—David Berry, 1856–73; Finlay M. Harper, 1877–1906.

The first combined approach of persons “attached to the Covenanting cause in the neighbourhood of Thurso and Wick” seems to have been made to the Presbytery of Edinburgh on February 9, 1835. The petition for a supply of sermon was gladly received, and for the next few years services were conducted as far as possible. At the Synod of April 1838 a petition was received from “above 60 persons in Wick” asking that Dr Andrew Symington be sent north to organise them into a congregation. At the same time aid in building a church was cordially recommended to the liberality of the Church at large. The congregation was duly constituted on July 6, and on November 3, 1839, a new church was opened free of debt and with a seating accommodation of about 500. During these early years it was stated that “about 300 people generally attend public worship in connection with our church, and on the day of the Sacrament the audience would amount to 700.”

In 1841 the congregation was strong enough to ask for moderation for the first time, and for the next fifteen years had to suffer many dis-

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appointments, doubtless on account of the smallness of income and the distance from the centre. The first call in 1841 was refused by William M‘Lachlan of Kilmalcolm after it had been referred to the Synod. Next year David Henderson was chosen minister by a majority of 23 to 21, but his election was protested against by a vigorous minority, and was departed from. James Morrison was called in the spring of 1844, the stipend promised being £70, with £10 for house rent. After considering the matter for several months, he refused the call on December 18, 1844. In 1847 a call was extended to Matthew Easton, but at the Synod of that year he preferred Girvan. In 1852 John H. Thomson was called, but he refused on March 30 of the following year. At last on April 8, 1856, David Berry accepted and was inducted on June 11, 1856. At that time the membership was 45, and the stipend £65.

On June 3, 1873, Berry resigned on account of the difficulties of the situation. From that time till the Union of 1876 the charge was vacant. The membership in 1875 was 37, though in computing the number the reluctance of good people in the North to join the church must always be remembered. At the Union the congregation became known appropriately as “Martyr’s.” In 1912 it united with the Central congregation of Pultneytown, Wick.

ESKDALEMUIR AND ETTRICK

Ministers.—James Morrison, 1847–78; John T. Falside, 1879–1903; J. C. Nicol, M.A., 1903–12.

As early as the end of the seventeenth century Eskdalemuir was one of the centres in the South where preaching was given. With it was conjoined Ettrick, or “Forest” as it is sometimes named in the minutes. In 1835 two elders were ordained, and thereafter additions were regularly made to the session as required. In the same year the Sacrament seems to have been dispensed for the first time in the district. The church was built in 1836 and was improved in 1882. Its use was given to the Free Church party for some time at the Disruption. On September 24, 1839, moderation was asked for, and in granting it, the Presbytery suggested that a manse should be provided. At the meeting of Presbytery held on March 10, 1840, it was announced that James Bryden had been elected, but at the Synod following he declined the call. Next year it was agreed that the stipend should be £60 with £10 granted by the Synod. On December 14 John M‘Cubbin was elected, but the Ettrick portion of the congregation, although they agreed, were not cordial because they doubted if they could contribute their portion of the stipend. The call was duly sustained, but before it could be accepted M‘Cubbin

CONGREGATIONS 61

had left the Church. Thus disappointed the congregation on May 1, 1844, petitioned the Presbytery that Robert Harkness be appointed missionary for twelve months at a salary of £45 with board, and the proposal was remitted to the Synod for sanction. In September Harkness declined the position.

It was not till February 3, 1847, that it was reported that James Morrison had been called, 59 members and 12 adherents signing the call. He accepted and was ordained on June 2, 1847. The building of a manse was immediately planned, but its erection was delayed till next year because of a difference of opinion regarding the site. The membership was then 35 at Eskdalemuir and 32 at Ettrick. In 1856 Selkirk asked for a supply of sermon, and it was granted on condition that the session at Eskdalemuir agreed. Morrison’s ministry covered a wide area, and as usual he was provided with a pony.

In 1912 the congregation was reduced to the status of a preaching station, and was served with missionaries, ordained and unordained.

RENTON

Ministers.—John M‘Kinlay (1806), 1842–56; John Hamilton, 1857–74; George Davidson, B.Sc., 1875–76; Archibald Bell, 1877–86; James M‘Robert, M.A., 1886–97; John Riddell, B.D., 1898–1911; A. H. Macpherson, 1911–21; W. R. Stewart, M.A., 1921—.

Renton congregation had its origin in a petition for sermon addressed to the Burgher Presbytery of Glasgow on February 4, 1783. The building of a church was at once begun, and in August 1784 elders were ordained. The first minister was William Taylor, who was ordained on January 3, 1786. On September 16, 1800, with his congregation he declined the Synod and united with the Original Burghers. In May 1805 Taylor was translated to Perth, and in the following year John M‘Kinlay was elected minister and ordained over the congregation.

When the Original Burgher Synod united with the Church of Scotland in 1839 M‘Kinlay and his congregation remained with the minority, and when they in turn united with the Original Secession Church in 1842, they still stood aloof. On November 21 M‘Kinlay and an elder applied, on behalf of the people, for admission to the Reformed Presbyterian Church, and at the Synod of November 1842 they were cordially welcomed. On November 27 admission was carried through formally at a meeting of the congregation.

The accession of M‘Kinlay and his congregation did much to relieve the situation for members of the church on the north side of the Clyde: they were no longer under the necessity of crossing the estuary to worship

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at Kilmalcolm. The ministry of M‘Kinlay carried on the Covenanting strain. “Under the leadership of its stern and uncompromising minister,” it is said, the congregation “became the citadel of a stern and uncompromising faith and discipline.” His jubilee was celebrated in October 1856, and at the meeting there was a large attendance of ministers of all denominations, who testified to the great influence the congregation had exerted in the community. It was declared that in spite of the number of new churches in the district, due to the growth of the population, the Reformed Presbyterian congregation was “much about its usual way,” and was in no debt. M‘Kinlay died within a few weeks of the meeting.

Under its next minister, John Hamilton, the congregation grew and “attained its highest prosperity in numbers, influence and spiritual power.” There was a crowded church, and families came from Cardross, Bowling, Loch Lomondside, and Dumbarton. Hamilton did what he could to extend the influence of his people by holding “out” meetings at Bonhill, Alexandria, Cardross, and Dumbarton. The young were cared for by special classes conducted in the manse by the minister’s mother. In 1869 the congregation signified their appreciation of the services of the minister by a substantial gift. At that time he declined a call to an important city charge.

Considerable changes were made on the church property during Hamilton’s ministry. In 1860 the lease on which it was held had nearly run its course, and in arranging new titles it was resolved that in the event of a dispute “not less than two-thirds of the members who shall have been in the full communion of the church for the two years immediately prior to the dispute taking place,” shall “claim and retain the property and grounds attached.” Soon after a new manse was built, the complete cost being almost immediately met.

Hamilton was inducted to the West Free Church, Glasgow, in 1874, and the congregation retaliated by choosing as their missionary a Free Church student, George Davidson, with a view to his being called. To make himself eligible he joined the Paisley congregation. On April 6, 1875, he was licensed, and on April 27 following he accepted a unanimous call, the call being signed by 175 members and 60 adherents. He was ordained on May 18. Next year he was called to the Barony, Glasgow, and accepted the call.

The history of the congregation, subsequent to the Union of 1876, is detailed in Levenside Church, by Rev. John Riddell, B.D., Paisley, 1911. In 1875 the membership stood at 215.

CONGREGATIONS 63

LORN

Considerable interest attaches to the congregation at Lorn, both because the members alone of those adhering to the Reformed Presbytery spoke Gaelic and because of their special origin. They were situated mainly in the Islands of Luing and Seil and on the neighbouring mainland, as well as Lochgilphead, where ultimately they developed into a separate congregation. They sprang from an unsatisfactory settlement over the parish in 1787.

For many years the little congregation continued with occasional supply and with the help of what money grants the Presbytery could make. It became notable for the number of ministers it provided for the Church. In 1836 steps were taken to build a place of worship. The Disruption of 1843 seems to have caused some anxiety, for certain members were following divisive courses. In April of that year Malcolm M‘Lachlan, of Castle-Douglas, was called but at the Synod he declined. Next year a permanent missionary was asked for, and John M‘Lachlan supplied for a time. Another application for moderation was granted and M‘Lachlan was called on December 26, 1844. He declined. In 1847 the people discovered that the want of a manse hindered the settlement of a minister, and in the same year John Campbell, late of Newton-Stewart, consented to become the missionary for a time. He continued till 1860. In 1853 it was reported that there were 5 elders and 45 members, although the finances were very limited. On August 20, 1862, Donald M‘Lachlan was settled over them as an ordained missionary, and in the same year he asked for the erection of a cottage to serve as a manse.

It is apparent that the decisions of the Synod of 1863 and 1876 resulted in the loss of some members. In 1870 James Littlejohn was ordained over the dissentients of 1863 by the minority Synod. In 1872 a majority of those who remained faithful united with the Free Church, and in 1873 the membership stood at only 16. At the Union of 1876 M‘Lachlan was given a retiring allowance, and the congregation was formally merged in the Free Church congregation of Kilbrandon and Kilchattan.

LESMAHAGOW

Minister.—John West Macmeeken, 1846–68.

Originally an offshoot from the Original Burgher congregation of Carluke, this congregation received separate supply from the Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1814, and was erected in 1816. The first minister was

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settled in 1820. With the Synod it entered the Church of Scotland in 1839, and in 1843 adhered to the Free Church. On the translation of the then minister to Sanquhar in the same year, a portion of the members refused to unite with a neighbouring Free Church, and applied to the Reformed Presbytery for supply. Supply was granted to them and individuals were recommended meantime to join Douglas Water. That congregation offering no objection, Lesmahagow was erected into a congregation at a meeting of the Presbytery on March 4, 1844, and on May 5, elders were elected.

On April 28, 1845, moderation was granted, and it was reported to the Presbytery of Glasgow that on May 14, John Graham of Wishawtown had been elected, the call being signed by 54 members. The call was opposed and the case was referred to the Synod, when Graham refused to be translated. William Symington was next called, but he also declined. Some difficulty thereafter arose in reference to the amount of stipend offered, but at last on August 10, 1846, John W. Macmeeken was chosen, 76 members and 15 adherents signing the call. He was ordained on December 30.

In 1847 some living in the neighbourhood of Lesmahagow, who were members of Douglas Water, wished to join the nearer congregation, but a decision of the Synod seemed to stand in the way, and the matter was referred to it. The Synod appointed a committee composed of the Presbyteries of Glasgow and Kilmarnock to adjudicate on the dispute. The conclusion they reached was to allow all to join either congregation as convenience dictated.

It is evident that the congregation was never in a very vigorous and prosperous condition. After struggling along for twenty years matters came to a crisis. On August 4, 1868, a memorial was presented asking the Presbytery to ratify their resolution that “they can no longer exist as a separate congregation,” and to accept the resignation of Macmeeken. They were deeply in debt, and had fallen into arrears of stipend and feuduty. The resignation was accepted with regret, but a committee was appointed to investigate the state of the congregation. It was found that nothing could be done. The property, including church and manse, had, with the consent of the overlord, the Duke of Hamilton, been assigned to the minister as compensation for arrears, and the people had dispersed. The Presbytery could only record its dissatisfaction.

CONGREGATIONS 65

GIRVAN

Ministers.—M. G. Easton, D.D., 1848–61; John Jackson, 1863–76; John Allan, 1877–79.

Immediately after the death of John West, a movement of those belonging to his congregation in the town of Girvan and its neighbourhood was set on foot to be disjoined from Colmonell. No objection was offered, and the Presbytery agreed to the division on August 26, 1845. The congregation was constituted in the following month, and on March 23, 1846, elders were ordained to form a session. In May of the same year plans for a new church were approved of at a cost of £400, of which £245 was already in hand. It was opened for public worship on July 13, 1847, almost free of debt, and was seated for 400. On November 16 moderation in a call was asked for, the congregation offering £70 towards stipend in the expectation of a grant from the funds of the Church. On December 15 John Macleod of Stranraer was unanimously chosen, the call being signed by 23 members and 100 adherents. At the meeting of the Presbytery on March 14 following he refused the call.

On August 1, 1848, moderation was again asked for, £70 and a manse being promised, and on August 21, Matthew G. Easton was elected. He accepted, and was ordained on November 22. During his ministry reports of the congregational activities were most hopeful. The Sabbath School had twenty teachers, and a small library was begun almost at once. In 1850 the number of members had increased to 36. All along, however, the membership was small. In 1861 the congregation was disjoined from the Presbytery of Newton-Stewart and added to that of Kilmarnock. In the same year Easton accepted a call to Darvel, where he was inducted on December 12, 1861.

The smallness of the congregation led to some delay in filling up the vacancy, and it was not till the spring of 1863 that P. M. Martin was called. At the meeting of Presbytery before which the call came, there was evidence that two other calls were expected—Kilbirnie and Carnoustie. In view of their superior claims the Girvan call was withdrawn. On March 3, however, John Jackson was unanimously elected, 49 signing the call and 30 adherents. He accepted, and was ordained on April 17.

The congregation continued to make slow progress. In 1865 a manse was built, and in 1871 it is noted that success had followed meetings at Lendalfoot, some miles along the coast, where doubtless some of those formerly attached to Colmonell worshipped. In that year the total membership had risen to 52, and by 1876 the figure was 67. In 1869 a serious difference of opinion broke out in the session over an election of elders, and proceedings were taken before both the Presbytery and the

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Synod. The Synod ended the trouble by apportioning the blame all round, and ordered another election, which should not be carried through before six months had elapsed to allow feeling to subside.

During his ministry at Girvan the peace of the congregation was shaken by calls addressed to Jackson. In 1868 he was called to Rothesay. In 1872 he was invited to take charge of the Reformed Presbyterian congregation in Manchester, which had been newly started in that city. He declined both calls, and the people showed their appreciation of his services by increases to his stipend. After 1876 he was appointed to Belize, under the Colonial Committee of the Free Church, and accepted the post.

On the resignation of James Allan on March 13, 1879, to proceed to the West Indies, the congregation evidently felt that its usefulness was past, there being a strong Free Church in the town, and it was formally dissolved on March 27, 1879. Church and manse were afterwards disposed of, and the price obtained placed at the disposal of the Synod, quoad civilia.

LOCHGILPHEAD

Ministers.—CHARLES N. M‘CAIG, 1851–80; J. MITCHELL FULTON, 1876–77; J. MILNE SHIREFFS, 1878–87; ALEXANDER BALLANTYNE, M.A., 1888– ; WILLIAM SUTHERLAND, 1906–9; KENNETH CAMERON, M.A., 1909–15; MALCOLM M‘LEOD, 1916–24.

Attached to the movement in Lorn, the people in Lochgilphead shared in its disadvantages. In 1831 it was formed into a mission station, and had intermittent supply and sometimes a missionary. In May 1843 the station suffered through the Disruption, and in addition the missionary reported that their place of worship had passed into the possession of the Episcopalians. By April 1845 prospects had so far improved that a site for a church was approved of, and the building was opened for worship on Sabbath, November 26. At the same time the name appears on the list of congregations for the first time. In January of the following year moderation was asked for, but the Presbytery suggested that one minister should be called for both Lorn and Lochgilphead. The movement, however, came to nothing. In 1851 application was made to the Synod for moderation and a grant towards stipend, both of which were allowed. At the following meeting of Presbytery the congregation declared that, though small themselves in number, they could reckon on the aid of 155 who petitioned with them. The result was that on May 20 a call was issued in favour of Charles N. M‘Caig, signed by 12 members and 119 adherents, the stipend to be £60 without a manse. M‘Caig accepted, and was ordained on September 9.

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M‘Caig continued over the small congregation till he retired in 1876, when a colleague was required, the stipend to be £100. On May 4 J. M. Fulton was elected by 27 members and 48 adherents, and was inducted on May 17, the last in the whole Church before the Union. The membership was then 40.

LONDON

There must have been adherents of the Church in the metropolis very early in the nineteenth century, for special arrangements had to be made for baptism. Occasional services were held by visiting ministers, but on July 8, 1856, the society meeting there was organised into a congregation by the Presbytery of Glasgow. Dr Cunningham, the Synod’s missionary to the Jews in London, acted as their representative in the matter, and he was authorised to ordain elders. At the meeting of Presbytery held on January 13 of the following year, the congregation asked for “moderation in a call to be given to Dr Cunningham.” The request was referred to the Synod, who postponed consideration of it to next meeting. Meantime Dr Cunningham had left the Church, and by 1862 London had disappeared from the list of congregations.

LIVERPOOL

Minister.—JOHN GRAHAM, D.D., 1858–76.

As early as August 21, 1827, application was made to the Synod by 38 persons in Liverpool for a grant in aid of preaching in the city. A preacher was sent for two months, and next spring the service was continued, but further help was declined on the ground that the congregation was a regular charge of the Irish Reformed Synod. A minister was thereafter duly settled over them, but in time he emigrated to America. For the next ten years they were without a pastor, the Irish Church being unable to provide the necessary funds.

In 1856 the people again approached their brethren in Scotland, and the Glasgow Presbytery referred the matter to the Synod of 1857, asking that the congregation be received into the Church. The request was granted, and in due course Dr John Graham of Ayr was elected minister. He was inducted on March 10, 1858. Up to that time the people had worshipped in the Hope Hall, a building seated for more than 1000. The first services were attended by over 300. In 1860 a site for a church in Shaw Street was acquired at a cost of £400, and the foundation stone was laid on April 11. To raise the necessary funds, Graham

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visited America, where he received $3000. The church was opened on February 17, 1861. The total cost was £2750, about £700 still remaining as a debt. So vigorous was the congregation that they began mission work, William Clow acting as missionary in 1863. By 1865 the membership had reached 297, and in 1867 the debt was extinguished. Before this time the congregation had developed Ragged Schools and Sabbath Schools, and in 1867 they resolved to erect buildings for them.

Thus established, the congregation continued to prosper till 1875, when Dr Graham’s health began to break down. At the beginning of 1876 he proposed to resign, but before the necessary arrangements could be made the congregation resolved to enter the Union between the English Presbyterian Church and the United Presbyterian congregations in England—which they accordingly did.

STROMNESS

Minister.—ALEXANDER DAVIDSON, 1860–70.

Stromness was the only congregation of the Reformed Presbyterian Church in the Orkneys, and existed only for a short time. Supply of sermon was granted in 1858, and its organisation was decreed by the Presbytery of Edinburgh on May 24, 1859. Soon afterwards Alexander Davidson was called. At first he refused the invitation, but it was renewed on June 13, 1860, and he accepted it. He was ordained on August 10.

The congregation was always very small in numbers, but was notable for its liberality, “doing more,” as a report to the Synod of 1862 said, “for the maintenance of gospel ordinances in proportion to their number than any congregation in our Church.” In 1861 a church was opened almost free of debt, and in 1864 a manse was begun, but the cost was still only partly met when the end came. Congregational activities were almost wholly confined to the town of Stromness, but they looked upon the little island of Graemsay lying opposite the town “as a possible field for evangelistic culture.” The promise held out, however, was falsified in the event. The principal supporter of the cause died. Davidson received a call to Rothesay in 1869, which he declined: when another came from Kilbirnie in the following year, he accepted it, and none could be found willing to take his place. In 1871 the Synod gave authority for the sale of the property. In 1873 the membership was returned at 10. The church and manse were sold in 1874, and £80 of the proceeds was given to Kilbirnie, and £100 to Douglas Water, to clear off debt. The congregation thereafter disappeared, no formal dissolution apparently taking place.

CONGREGATIONS 69

GLASGOW—SOUTHERN

(Renwick United Free Church)

Ministers.—JOHN M‘DERMID, 1855–82; JOHN FAIRLEY DALY, B.D., 1882–1901; WILLIAM SIMPSON, M.A., 1901–15; THOMAS PATERSON, M.A., 1915–25.

The congregation of Great Hamilton Street had so grown under the ministrations of the elder Dr Symington that some felt there was room for another congregation among the adherents of the Church on the south side of the river. The first meeting of those who might form such a congregation was held on March 7, 1853, and thereafter progress was rapid. On May 16 it was resolved to apply for a disjunction, and on July 12 the Presbytery granted the application, with the cordial approval of the session and people of Great Hamilton Street. The opening services were held on July 24, and were conducted by Dr Symington, the use of John Knox Free Church being obtained for the purpose. The congregation was constituted on August 2, 1853. Sixty-seven of the 130 members of Great Hamilton Street on the south side of the river joined the new venture.

Worship was carried on in various halls in the neighbourhood for the first two years. A site for a church was first chosen in Pollokshaws Road, but ultimately the building, seated for 500, was erected on a vacant piece of ground in Cumberland and Salisbury Streets. It was opened on March 18, 1855, the total cost being £1400. In 1860 a gallery was added, at an outlay of £1300.

The choice of a minister proved somewhat difficult, and the following were elected, but declined:—On November 10, 1853, James M‘Gill of Hightae; on April 10, 1854, George Clazy, afterwards of Paisley; and on October 30, Thomas Easton of Stranraer. On July 9, 1855, John M‘Dermid, Dumfries, was elected by a majority, and having accepted was inducted on November 8, 1855. During the vacancy David Berry, afterwards of Wick, acted as locum tenens. Under M‘Dermid’s care the congregation grew and prospered till in 1875 the membership stood at 320.

The first church building served till 1868, when the site was acquired for railway extension, the congregation receiving £4957 as price and compensation for disturbance. On September 5, 1869, the new church in Cumberland Street was opened at a total cost of £6107. At the same time a house was reconstructed as a manse on the adjacent site. To adjust itself to the new conditions, the congregation became known as Renwick Free Church at the Union of 1876.

Renwick has proved one of the most active and prosperous congregations on the south side of Glasgow, and has been made specially attractive

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for young people. In addition to the ordinary work of a congregation, missionary operations were undertaken in the neighbourhood from the beginning with gratifying results. Before 1876 the missionaries were David M‘Guire, who was also an elder; William Clow, afterwards minister at Kilmarnock; W. H. Macfarlane, afterwards U.P. minister at Keith; and W. A. Smith, who went to Australia.

See The Rise and Progress of . . . Renwick Free Church, by John M. Robertson, Glasgow, 1887.

GLASGOW—ST GEORGE’S ROAD

(Grant Street United Free Church)

Ministers.—JOHN TORRANCE, 1861–1901; JAMES KENNEDY, 1902–7; A. F. CAMPBELL, 1907– .

The fifth Glasgow congregation arose out of dissatisfaction with the call presented by West Campbell Street to Rev. Andrew Clokie. They were meeting in Desmond Bank Academy in November 1858. On the 23rd of that month the Presbytery granted them supply, and on January 10, 1859, authorised their organisation into a congregation. On November 29 moderation was allowed them, and on December 21 James M‘Gill of Hightae was called by 69 members and 36 adherents. He declined the call. On August 6, 1860, John Hamilton of Renton was called, but he refused the invitation. On December 20 John Torrance of Colmonell was elected, and he not being able to decide, a minority complained against the decision of the Presbytery to translate him. The Synod decided in favour of the Glasgow congregation. He was inducted on May 30, 1861.

A new church had by this time been opened on August 4, 1860. It was seated for 700, and had the ordinary class-rooms beneath. The debt on the building was removed in 1867. Mission work was undertaken in the near neighbourhood, and to provide garments that were necessary an evening Industrial School was begun, and a Bible woman engaged. Rooms for a time were rented in Gayfield Street in 1874, and at 95 Garnethill Street in 1875. The congregation itself made steady progress, and in 1875 had 355 members.

THURSO

On November 9, 1831, a letter was received by the Presbytery of Edinburgh from some attached adherents of the Church in Thurso, asking for supply of sermon. They had originally belonged to the Old Light

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Antiburghers, and were dissatisfied with the various Union movements that had taken place among the Seceders. “They obtained a reading of the Act and Testimony emitted by the Reformed Presbytery, a copy of which an eminent Christian had sent many years before to a friend in that country. The result was their persuasion of the Scriptural nature of the principles of the Reformed Presbyterian Church.” In September, 1832, Martin of Strathmiglo was appointed to proceed north, but he was unable to go because the season was unsuitable. Next year, application was made for formal admission to the Church, and Martin went north for a month. His movements in Caithness had something of the nature of a triumphal procession, as had those of Peter Carmichael in the following summer. Large meetings were held everywhere. On their return encouraging reports were given in, and thenceforth Thurso was looked upon as a station of the Church.

For the next few years an irregular supply of ordinances was maintained, and in the summer of 1844 the people asked to be organised into a congregation. The Synod of that year referred the petition to the Presbytery of Edinburgh with instructions that if a minister was called to Wick, his services should be shared by Thurso. No settlement was effected at Wick, and procedure was sisted, Wick proving unwilling to be linked congregationally with Thurso. In the Records Thurso continued to be entered as a “society” only, and such supply as was possible was allowed. In May 1852 application was again made to the Presbytery for organisation, but the enquiries do not seem to have been satisfactory, for nothing was done.

For many years the society met for worship in the parish school, but in 1858 preparation was begun for the building of a church. It was opened free of debt on July 1, 1860, at a cost of £350. A few days previously, on June 23, the people were organised into a congregation for the first time. They were never self-supporting, and in 1863 sided with the dissentients, who left the Church. It was not till 1896 that a minister was called. The congregation is now practically derelict.

GREENOCK—WEST SHAW STREET

(Martyrs United Free Church)

Ministers.—DAVID TAYLOR, 1861–69; ANDREW SYMINGTON, 1869–1920; J. WALLACE WHYTE, M.A., 1912–19; WALTER ALEXANDER, M.A., 1919–24.

The first mention of a second congregation at Greenock is made in the Presbytery minutes of October 2, 1860, when a petition for disjunction from the First congregation, signed by 103 members and 21 adherents,

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was presented. At the same meeting the acceptance of the call from the First congregation to Peter Carmichael of Penpont was reported. The request arose out of dissatisfaction with his settlement, objection being taken to the methods employed in the election, and the age of the candidate. The petition, which included the names of four elders and six deacons, was at once unanimously granted.

At first the new congregation met in the mission premises of the Sir Michael Street U.P. congregation, but the building of a church was immediately proceeded with. It was opened on December 15, 1861, and cost £1500. Sitting accommodation was provided for 536.

Immediately on disjunction being granted, moderation was asked for, the stipend offered being £120. On January 23, 1861, John Torrance of Colmonell was chosen, the call being signed by 107 members and 26 adherents, but at the meeting of Synod he chose St George’s Road, Glasgow. On July 25 David Taylor of Ayr was elected, 110 members and 29 adherents signing the call. He was inducted on October 16. During the first fourteen months of its history, the congregation raised £630, and Taylor’s ministry was much appreciated, as was shown by the frequent additions made to his stipend.

On February 24, 1869, Taylor accepted a call to West Campbell Street, Glasgow, and on June 23 Andrew Symington of Laurieston was called by 130 members and 48 adherents. He was inducted on September 1. During the first five years of his ministry he added 120 members to the roll, which in 1877 stood at 208.

On Symington’s retirement in 1909 the congregation was reduced to a station, but was restored to a full charge in 1912. In 1924 it was united with the North Church, and the buildings were sold to the Free Presbyterians in the following year.

CARNOUSTIE

Minister.—WALTER WHITE, 1863–73.

This congregation was founded in 1809, and originally belonged to the Constitutional Presbytery. In 1852 the great majority along with their minister united with the Free Church. The minority attempted to secure the Church property, which had been built in 1810, but the decision of the House of Lords was unfavourable to their claim. On the death of their minister in 1859, it was thought that one congregation of the Free Church in the town was enough, and the Assembly of 1862 so decided. The decision did not approve itself, and in November of the same year the congregation was received into the Reformed Presbyterian Church by the Presbytery of Edinburgh. On February 12, 1863, Peter M.

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Martin was called, but he was settled at Kilbirnie. On May 18 Walter White was chosen, and he was ordained on June 10.

The congregation was never large, and in 1872 found itself in financial difficulties. The membership had fallen to 57, and the minister was in ill-health. For some time a small legacy had relieved the situation, but by 1872 it was exhausted. Dissatisfaction was expressed with White’s ministrations, both in quality and in length. On February 11, 1873, he resigned.

The future of the congregation was thereafter uncertain. A missionary was for some time engaged to carry on the work. In April 1875 the members, who then numbered 27, resolved to unite with the Original Secession Church, and the Presbytery silently acquiesced.

GLASGOW—LANDRESSY STREET

(Barrowfield United Free Church)

Ministers.—JOHN EDGAR, M.A., 1863–1904; J. LINDSAY ROBERTSON, B.D., 1904– .

The congregation of Landressy Street grew out of the Mission carried on by Great Hamilton Street in Green Street since 1851. In 1860, under the impetus of the Revival of that time, it was resolved to place the buildings of the Mission at the disposal of the Presbytery for the purpose of establishing a Home Mission station, and in March 1861 John Edgar, then a student, was placed in charge. The progress was such that on January 5, 1863, a petition from 66 members and 53 adherents to be organised into a congregation came before the Session, and on March 9 the Presbytery formally recognised them. On April 22 Edgar was elected minister, and he was ordained on June 3.

For some time the young congregation remained in Green Street consolidating itself, but in 1868 it felt itself strong enough to seek for larger premises. In 1869 a new church was opened in Landressy Street. By 1877 the membership had grown to 400, and the congregation was known for its social and evangelistic work.

DUNSCORE

Ministers.—JAMES BOWIE, 1874–87; ALEXANDER GRAY, 1887–97; WILLIAM BARROWMAN, 1898– .

It appears that services were held here about 1830, but it was not till July 1843 that anything definite was accomplished. Then it was agreed to give supply provided that no objection was offered by the neighbouring congregations of Dumfries and Penpont. The New Statistical Account

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of that time states the parish had seventeen Cameronians in it, and says that they had an annual Sacrament attended by the whole parish. The children attended the Established Church. Up to that time services were usually held in the open air, but in April 1847 it was resolved “to take steps to have a place of worship erected without delay,” and on July 2, 1848, it was opened. The building was situated about a mile from the village, and was known as “The Craig.” It was seated for 200, and was soon free of debt. Considerable delay occurred in giving the congregation a separate existence, but on April 1, 1863, the Presbytery resolved to “foster and strengthen” the cause. It was directly placed under the care of Dumfries, and James Cosh, afterwards of the New Hebrides and Australia, was appointed preacher. The membership was then about 30, with an average attendance at church of 70. Two Sabbath Schools were carried on. Cosh was succeeded by another student, Archibald Glendinning, and on August 15, 1866, they asked to be organised into a mission station with dispensation of the Sacrament and ability to receive members. In 1867 James Hunter became the missionary.

In 1868 the Presbytery was of opinion that the people at Dunscore should be disjoined from the two congregations with which they had been connected, and that “the members should be formed into a mission station under the Presbytery.” In turn Allan M‘Dougall and George Laurie acted as missionaries, and at length on May 5, 1874, moderation in a call was asked for, the membership being 52, and the stipend offered being £65. It was an exceptional case, and the minister in view was understood not to stand on the amount of stipend required. Consent was given by the Synod on the understanding that no charge was to be made on the funds of the Church, and on May 19 James Bowie was elected, the call being signed by 51 members out of 52, and by 17 adherents. He was inducted on June 23, 1874. After the Union of 1876 the congregation was known as Craig Free Church. In 1877 the membership was 67. A manse was provided in 1888.

COATBRIDGE

(East United Free Church)

Ministers.—WALTER R. PATON, 1870–71; JOHN KAY, D.D., 1871–78; JOHN DICKSON, 1878–82; P. A. G. CLARK, 1882–87; ADAM MAXWELL, 1887– .

The proposal to begin a new cause in Coatbridge is said to have been made first “at the baptism of a little child.” A meeting was afterwards held on September 29, 1868, and it was decided to begin work as a station under the supervision of the Airdrie congregation. The use of the Temperance

CONGREGATIONS 75

Hall was secured at an annual rental of £20. The first missionary was Walter R. Paton. He began work on March 7, 1869, and on October 26 consent was given by the Presbytery to the organisation of the people into a congregation, the petition being signed by 59 members and 62 adherents, all belonging to the Airdrie congregation residing in Coatbridge. The edict to erect the congregation was carried out by the Rev. John M‘Dermid, who also conducted a Communion service on the last Sabbath of January and afterwards presided at an election of elders on March 16. A call was issued in favour of Paton, signed by 68 members and 37 adherents, and he was ordained on April 27, 1870, a manse being promised and a stipend of £80. Paton resigned on February 14, 1871, through ill-health. In the following year a question of the payment of arrears of stipend was raised, but an accommodation was reached. A call to John Wylie of Dundee was declined on April 26. A second call was accepted by John Kay (afterwards D.D.), of Castle-Douglas, who was inducted on September 27. The stipend promised was £150. The growth of the congregation was rapid. In 1875 the membership stood at 473, the second highest in the Church. During the ministry of Kay a church and a manse were built.

RUTHERGLEN

(East United Free Church)

Ministers.—T. W. PATRICK, 1871–77; WILLIAM ARMSTRONG, 1878–89; WILLIAM LINDSAY, M.A., 1889–1924; A. H. TAYLOR, M.A., 1925– .

On April 12, 1870, a petition was presented to the Glasgow Presbytery from “27 male members of various Presbyterian Churches and of the Independent Church in Rutherglen,” praying that they be organised as a mission station, and promising £100 as the salary of a missionary. After enquiry the Presbytery agreed to the petition on April 27, and T. W. Patrick became the missionary. On May 9 the formal erection into a congregation was carried out, and 70 persons were then received into membership. Although the new congregation desired that Patrick should be immediately settled over them as their minister, it was not till the Synod of 1871 that it was agreed that he should be licensed on condition that he afterwards attended the fifth year classes at the Hall. Patrick was duly elected minister on November 21, the call being signed by 97 members and 62 adherents; and he was ordained on December 21. The building of the church had been begun by this time, the foundation stone being laid on September 30, 1871. In 1875 the membership was 234.

On May 16, 1877, Patrick was suspended sine die by the General Assembly of the Free Church, and the pastoral tie dissolved.

76 THE REFORMED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH

MANCHESTER

On August 8, 1871, a petition was received from “the Reformed Presbyterian Congregation at Manchester,” asking the Presbytery of Glasgow to take their case into consideration. The Presbytery responded by sending Dr Graham of Liverpool and David Taylor of Glasgow to consult with the petitioners. On their report they were received as a congregation on September 12. Next year they offered £120 as stipend, and on October 1 unanimously called John Jackson of Girvan, but at the meeting of Presbytery on October 29 he wrote declining. For a little longer the congregation struggled on, but in 1874 they disposed of their property, and on April 14 their name was removed from the roll, with their own consent.

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