Andrew Mitchell Thomson
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Andrew Mitchell Thomson (1779–1831) was a minister of 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 ...
, known as an evangelical activist and political reformer.


Life

The second son of the Rev. John Thomson, D.D., by his first wife, Helen Forrest, he was born in the manse at
Sanquhar Sanquhar (, ) is a town on the River Nith in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, north of Thornhill and west of Moffat. It is a former Royal Burgh. It is notable for its tiny post office, established in 1712 and considered the oldest working p ...
,
Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the hi ...
, where his father was minister, on 11 July 1779. Educated at the parish school of
Markinch Markinch (, Scottish Gaelic: Marc Innis) is both a village and a parish in the heart of Fife, Scotland. According to an estimate taken in 2008, the village has a population of 2,420. The civil parish had a population of 16,530 (in 2011).Census ...
,
Fife Fife ( , ; ; ) is a council areas of Scotland, council area and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in Scotland. A peninsula, it is bordered by the Firth of Tay to the north, the North Sea to the east, the Firth of Forth to the s ...
after his father had moved there, and at
Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...
which he left in 1800, he was licensed to preach by the presbytery of Kelso; but before receiving a clerical charge he was schoolmaster at Markinch. In 1802 he was appointed parish minister at
Sprouston Sprouston is a village, parish and former feudal barony in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, as well as the historic county of Roxburghshire, located 2 miles north-east of Kelso.Survey Gazetteer of the British Isles, publ. J.G. Bartholo ...
,
Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh () is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the northwest, and Berwickshire to the north. T ...
. In 1808 he was transferred to the East Church,
Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...
; in 1810 to New Greyfriars, Edinburgh; and in 1814, on the opening of the church, moved within the city to St George's Church. There he remained until his death. When the Edinburgh town council presented Thomson to Greyfriars, there was strong opposition; but he became one of the influential Edinburgh preachers. He promoted singing at his church, and an improved
psalmody The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...
in Scottish church worship. He issued a new set of tunes, some of which he composed himself, "Redemption" and "St. George's, Edinburgh" being among them. Thomson belonged to the evangelical section of the Church of Scotland, and was strongly opposed to the interference of the state in matters spiritual. For the last few years of his life he was a recognised leader of the evangelical party. In the General Assembly he identified himself with the reformers, and took part in the debates against pluralities in livings and the abuses of lay patronage. Like
Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland (1843—1900), Free Church of Scotl ...
, his ecclesiastical successor, he was interested in social questions, and founded in Edinburgh a weekday school, known as "Dr. Andrew Thomson's". He also took a prominent part in the agitation against
slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...
in the British colonies, advocating immediate and not gradual abolition. When a rumour alarm was spread that the French had landed, he gathered the Sprouston volunteers and marched into Kelso at their head. In the Apocrypha controversy, Thomson assailed the
British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The ...
, in the pages of his ''Christian Instructor''. In 1825 he resigned from the Society, and with supporters founded the Edinburgh Bible Society. He declined the offer of the degree of D.D. from
Columbia College, New York Columbia College is the oldest undergraduate college of Columbia University, a private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhattan, it is the oldest institu ...
, in 1818, but accepted the same honorary degree when
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 ...
offered it in 1823. He died suddenly in the street, when returning from a meeting of presbytery, to his home at 29 Melville Street in Edinburgh's West End, on 9 February 1831. Thomas Chalmers preached one of his funeral sermons, and he was buried in the Dean Cemetery.


Works

Thomson's major works were: * ''A Catechism for the Instruction of Communicants'', Edinburgh, 1808. * ''Lectures Expository and Practical'', 2 vols. Edinburgh, 1816. * ''Lovers of Pleasure more than Lovers of God'', Edinburgh, 1818; edited, with an introduction, by
Robert Smith Candlish Robert Smith Candlish (23 March 1806 – 19 October 1873) was a Scottish minister who was a leading figure in the Disruption of 1843. He served for many years in both St. George's Church and St George's Free Church on Charlotte Square in Ed ...
, Edinburgh, 1867. * ''Sermons on Infidelity'', London, 1821. * ''A Collection in Prose and Verse for Use in Schools'', Edinburgh, 1823. * ''Sermons on Hearing the Word'', Edinburgh, 1825. *
The Scripture History
', Bristol, 1826. *
Scripture History of the New Testament
', London, 1827. * ''Sermons on various Subjects'', Edinburgh, 1829. * ''Sermons and Sacramental Exhortations'', Edinburgh, 1831. * ''The Doctrine of Universal Pardon'', Edinburgh, 1830. Thomson edited and wrote in the ''Edinburgh Christian Instructor'', which he founded in 1810. He used its pages to make a prominent reply in 1829 to the
United Secession Church The United Secession Church (or properly the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which existed between 1820 and 1847. History The First Secession from the established Church of Scotland had ...
minister Andrew Marshall in the early stages of the "voluntary crisis" on church establishment, which led to the
disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...
. The ''Instructor'' was edited after his death by Marcus Dods who was another major contributor. Thomson contributed to
David Brewster Sir David Brewster Knight of the Royal Guelphic Order, KH President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, PRSE Fellow of the Royal Society of London, FRS Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland, FSA Scot Fellow of the Scottish Society of ...
's ''
Edinburgh Encyclopædia The ''Edinburgh Encyclopædia'' is an encyclopaedia in 18 volumes, printed and published by William Blackwood and edited by David Brewster between 1808 and 1830. In competition with the Edinburgh-published ''Encyclopædia Britannica'', the ''Ed ...
'', of which he was part proprietor. The founding group around 1807 of the project comprised Brewster, Thomson, and some others on the "whig evangelical" wing of the Kirk that Thomson represented. He wrote 43 articles for the ''Encyclopædia''.


Family

In 1802 Thomson married Jane Carmichael, who survived him and had by him ten children; of those, seven survived their father. The eldest son was John Thomson (1805–1841) the composer. His older brother Very Rev William Aird Thomson was
Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...
in 1835.


Artistic recognition

He was portrayed by Sir
Henry Raeburn Sir Henry Raeburn (; 4 March 1756 – 8 July 1823) was a Scottish portrait painter. He served as Portrait Painter to King George IV in Scotland. Biography Raeburn was born the son of a manufacturer in Stockbridge, on the Water of Leith: a f ...
.Illustrated Catalogue of the Exhibition of Portraits in the New Galleries of Art in Corporation Buildings


Notes


External links


Iain Whyte, ''"Can we come out of sin 'by degrees'?" The contribution of Andrew Thomson and John Ritchie to the anti-slavery movement in Scotland 1820-1840.''
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomson, Andrew Mitchell 1779 births 1831 deaths 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers People from Sanquhar Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Church of Scotland hymnwriters