David Shaw (1719–1810) 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 Asse ...

in 1775.

Life

Coylton, old parish church, Hamilton Aisle

He was born around 1719 the third son of Rev Alexander Shaw of Edinkillie in

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It ...

and his wife, Grizel Munro. His brothers included Rev John Shaw of

Greenock Greenock (; sco, Greenock; gd, Grianaig, ) is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in Scotland, United Kingdom and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of ...

and Rev Andrew Shaw of St Madoes. In November 1743 David was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of

Forres Forres (; gd, Farrais) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several occasions. There ...

. He was ordained as minister of

Coylton Coylton ( sco, Culton) is a village and civil parish in South Ayrshire, Scotland. It is east of Ayr and west of Drongan, on the A70 road, A70. Sundrum Castle Holiday Park is to the west of the village, in the grounds of Sundrum Castle, which ...

in Ayrshire in 1749 and remained there all of his life. In 1775 he succeeded Rev Robert Henry as Moderator of the Church of Scotland.

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

awarded him an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

in the same year.Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana by Hew Scott He died on 26 April 1810 after 61 years of ministry at Coylton. His will is held by the National archive at Kew.

Family

In November 1750 he was married to Marion Dalrymple, daughter of James Dalrymple of

Ayr Ayr (; sco, Ayr; gd, Inbhir Àir, "Mouth of the River Ayr") is a town situated on the southwest coast of Scotland. It is the administrative centre of the South Ayrshire council area and the historic county town of Ayrshire. With a population ...

. Their children included Charles Shaw (1757-1827), who was Clerk to the Justiciary of the Peace of Ayrshire. He was grandfather to Patrick Shaw WS. His granddaughter Barbara married Prof

George Joseph Bell George Joseph Bell (26 March 177023 September 1843) was a Scottish advocate and legal scholar. From 1822 to 1843 he was Professor of Scots Law at the University of Edinburgh. He was succeeded by John Shank More. Early life George Bell was bor ...

and a second granddaughter Marion married the eminent surgeon, Sir

Charles Bell Sir Charles Bell (12 November 177428 April 1842) was a Scottish surgeon, anatomist, physiologist, neurologist, artist, and philosophical theologian. He is noted for discovering the difference between sensory nerves and motor nerves in the spi ...

References

1719 births 1810 deaths 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub