Duncan Mearns (1779–1852) was a Scottish minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

in 1821. He was professor of divinity at

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

from 1816.

Life

He was born in the manse at

Cluny Cluny () is a commune in the eastern French department of Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is northwest of Mâcon. The town grew up around the Benedictine Abbey of Cluny, founded by Duke William I of Aquitaine in ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

on 23 August 1779 the son of Rev Alexander Mearns, and his wife, Anne Morison, daughter of James Morison of Disblair, who had served as Provost of

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in 1745. Duncan entered

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

with a bursary in 1791 (aged 12) to study divinity under Rev Prof Gilbert Gerard and Rev Prof George Campbell. He graduated MA in March 1795, aged 15. He was licensed to preach in the

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

in the summer of 1799 and found a patron soon after in the Earl of Aberdeen, and he was ordained as minister of Tarves in

in November 1799. In October 1816 he became professor of divinity, replacing his mentor Prof Gilbert Gerard. In 1821 he was elected

. In 1823 he was created Chaplain in Ordinary in Scotland to King

George IV George IV (George Augustus Frederick; 12 August 1762 – 26 June 1830) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 29 January 1820 until his death in 1830. At the time of his accession to the throne, h ...

. In 1830 he was living at 1 Chaplainry on the grounds of

. He died after a long illness on 2 March 1852. He is buried in the churchyard of

St Machar's Cathedral St Machar's Cathedral is a Church of Scotland church (building), church in Aberdeen, Scotland, located to the north of the city centre, in the former burgh of Old Aberdeen. Technically, St Machar's is no longer a cathedral but rather a Kirk ...

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It retains the sta ...

. The grave lies against the east wall of the church.

Family

In 1808 in Udny manse he married Elizabeth (Eliza) Forsyth, daughter of William Forsyth of Huntly. They had two sons and six daughters including Rev William Morison Mearns DD (died 1891), minister of

Kinneff Kinneff is a roadside hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, just north of Inverbervie.Kinneff.

1779 births 1852 deaths Clergy from Aberdeenshire 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Aberdeen Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub