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 ( gd, A' Chomraich) is a peninsula north-west of Kyle of Lochalsh in the council area of Highland, Scotland. The name Applecross is at least 1,300 years old and is ''not'' used locally to refer to the 19th century village (which i ...

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 Knockbain is a parish on the Black Isle, in the county of Ross and Cromarty in Highland council area, Scotland. It includes the villages of North Kessock, Munlochy and Kilmuir. The parishes of Kilmuir Wester and Suddie were united in the 1750s, ...

Ross and Cromarty Ross and Cromarty ( gd, Ros agus Cromba), sometimes referred to as Ross-shire and Cromartyshire, is a variously defined area in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. There is a registration county and a lieutenancy area in current use, the l ...

. 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 ( gd, Poll Iù) 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 ...

and

Aultbea Aultbea (Gaelic: ''An t-Allt Beithe'') is a small fishing village in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. It is situated on the southeast shore of Loch Ewe, about 30 km west of Ullapool. The village has a Primary School and a small Post O ...

but this was denied by the Assembly. In August 1911 he translated to

Plockton Plockton ( gd, Am Ploc/Ploc Loch Aillse) 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, a ...

. 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 c ...

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

. He died on 26 April 1939 at

Glenshiel Glen Shiel ( gd, Gleann Seile; also known as Glenshiel) is a glen in the Northwest Highlands of Scotland. The glen runs approximately 9 miles from south-east to north-west, from the Cluanie Inn (216 metres, 708 feet) at the western end of Loch ...

and is buried in Kirkton churchyard in

Lochalsh Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Loch Hourn, ie. from Stromef ...

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. It lies on the A9 between Inverness and Thurso. Notable Buildings *Newmore Farmhouse (1845) ...

(aged 72) he married Elizabeth MacLellan (1891-1969) 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 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub