Finlay MacRae (1857–1939) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1914/15.

Life

He was born on 2 November 1857 in

Applecross Applecross ( , 'The Sanctuary', historically anglicized as 'Combrich') is a peninsula in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. It is bounded by Loch Kishorn to the south, Loch Torridon to the north, and Glen Shieldaig to the east. On its wes ...

the son of Norman MacRae and Margaret MacNair. His training and early life is unclear and he probably had a different career before joining the church. In 1892 he was ordained by the Free Church of Scotland in the church at Knockbain 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 the Union of 1900 he remained in the Free Church of Scotland. In 1909 he was called to serve in the linked parishes of

Poolewe Poolewe () is a small village in Wester Ross in the North West Highlands of Scotland, about northwest of Inverness, by Loch Ewe. The River Ewe, one of the shortest in Scotland, joins the sea less than from Inverewe Garden, renowned for its sub ...

and

Aultbea Aultbea (Gaelic: ''An t-Allt Beithe'') is a small coastal fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about west of Ullapool. The village has a primary school and a small post offi ...

but this was denied by the Assembly.Scotsman (newspaper) 21 May 1909 In August 1911 he translated to

Plockton Plockton () is a village in the Lochalsh, Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands with a 2020 population of 468. Plockton settlement is on the shores of Loch Carron. It faces east, away from the prevailing winds; this, together with the North ...

. In 1915 he succeeded Very Rev

Samuel Lyle Orr Samuel Lyle Orr (c. 1850–1930) was an Irish-born minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1913/14. The Lyle Orr Awards have been granted by the Free Church of Scotland annually since 1914 to ...

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 ...

. He died on 26 April 1939 at Glenshiel.

Family

In 1930 at

Rosskeen Rosskeen is a parish in Ross and Cromarty on the Cromarty Firth in northern Scotland, containing the settlements of Invergordon, Bridgend and Saltburn, Ross and Cromarty, Saltburn. It lies on the A9 between Inverness and Thurso. Notable Buildi ...

(aged 72) he married Elizabeth MacLellan, 34 years his junior. She was sister to Rev John Mackay MacLellan, a junior colleague.

References

1857 births 1939 deaths 20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub