Donald Mackinnon Macalister (1832–1909) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1902/03.

Life

He was born in 1832 in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

as the son of Rev John Macalister (1789–1844) (a

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 ...

minister originally from the

Isle of Arran The Isle of Arran (; ) or simply Arran is an island off the west coast of Scotland. It is the largest island in the Firth of Clyde and the seventh-largest Scottish island, at . Counties of Scotland, Historically part of Buteshire, it is in the ...

, but serving in the Gaelic Church in Edinburgh), and his wife Margaret Cuthbertson, living at 4 Sylvan Place in the

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * The Grange (Toronto), Toronto, Ontario, built in 1817 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to ...

. The family moved to Nigg in

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty (), is an area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. In modern usage, it is a registration county and a Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. Between 1889 and 1975 it was a Shires of Scotland, county. Historical ...

in 1837, his father joined the Free Church of Scotland following 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 ...

, and they moved to Kilbride in 1844. His father was killed in an accident later that year. He took an initial degree at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

from 1846 then studied divinity at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the The University of Edinburgh, University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious studies, R ...

, from 1850 to 1854. He was licensed to preach by the Free Church of Scotland by the Presbytery of

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1854. His first role was as assistant to Rev Andrew Grey of

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 ...

. He then assisted Rev Robert Craig of

Rothesay Rothesay ( ; ) is the principal town on the Isle of Bute, in the council area of Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It lies along the coast of the Firth of Clyde. It can be reached by a Caledonian MacBrayne ferry from Wemyss Bay, which also offers an ...

and then Rev Samuel Miller of St Matthew's Free Church in

. He was ordained as minister of Kennoway in

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 ...

in August 1858. In 1878 he was translated to Old Machar Free Church in

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 1886 he moved to Greyfriars Free Church in

, replacing Rev Archibald Smellie (1826–1886). At the Union of 1900 he remained in the Free Church. In 1900 he was living at 32 Mansionhouse Road in the Grange district. In 1902 he succeeded the Very Rev James Duff MacCulloch as

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 ...

, the highest position in the Free Church of Scotland. He was succeeded in turn in 1903 by Rev Angus Galbraith. He died in

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; , meaning Upper Highland) is a town north of the Ochil Hills in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, and home to the Gleneagles Hotel. The High Street of Auchterarder gave the town its popular name of "The Lang Toun" or Long Town. The ...

on 24 September 1909.

Family

In August 1864 at 40 Skene Terrace in Aberdeen, he married Katharine Anne Maclagan (1839–1925) daughter of Rev James McLagan (sic) of

Kinfauns, Perthshire Kinfauns is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, at the western end of the Carse of Gowrie, east of Perth, Scotland, Perth.Corstorphine Corstorphine (Scottish Gaelic: ''Crois Thoirfinn'') ( ) is an area of the Scottish capital city of Edinburgh. Formerly a separate village and parish to the west of Edinburgh, it is now a suburb of the city, having been formally incorporate ...

in 1925. They had eight children, mainly born in Kennoway.http://ecclegen.com/ministers-mac/#MACALISTER DONALD MACKINNON

Publications

*''Gaelic and English Sermons by the late Rev John Macalister'' (his father)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Macalister, Donald MacKinnon 1832 births 1909 deaths Clergy from Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers