James Craik (1801–1870) 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 Ass ...

in 1863/4.

Life

He was born on 11 October 1801 in

Kennoway Kennoway is a village in Fife, Scotland, near the larger population centres in the area of Leven and Methil. It had an estimated population of in . It is about three miles inland from the Firth of Forth, north of Leven. This position gave it i ...

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 ...

to the local teacher (the school being church-run), Willam Craik and his wife, Paterson Lillie (sic). He was the second of three illustrious brothers: his elder brother was

George Lillie Craik George Lillie Craik (1798–1866) was a Scottish writer and literary critic. Life Born at Kennoway, Fife, he was the eldest of three illustrious brothers to the local schoolmaster, his younger brothers including Henry Craik and James Craik. ...

; his younger brother was Henry Craik. He was educated by his father then he (and his brothers) went to

St Andrews University The University of St Andrews (, ; abbreviated as St And in post-nominals) is a public university in St Andrews, Scotland. It is the oldest of the four ancient universities of Scotland and, following the universities of Oxford and Cambridge, t ...

. James studied divinity. After graduation he taught Classics at

George Heriot's School George Heriot's School is a private primary and secondary day school on Lauriston Place in the Lauriston area of Edinburgh, Scotland. In the early 21st century, it has more than 1600 pupils, 155 teaching staff, and 80 non-teaching staff. It was ...

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 ...

then was licensed to preach by 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 ...

in 1832, his first charge being

Scone A scone ( or ) is a traditional British and Irish baked good, popular in the United Kingdom and Ireland. It is usually made of either wheat flour or oatmeal, with baking powder as a leavening agent, and baked on sheet pans. A scone is often ...

Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...

. In 1842 he moved to St George's (Tron) Church in

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 ...

. He lived at 15 Sandyford Place, a charming Georgian terraced house in the city centre, just south of

Sauchiehall Street Sauchiehall Street () is one of the main shopping streets in the Glasgow city centre, city centre of Glasgow, Scotland, along with Buchanan Street and Argyle Street, Glasgow, Argyle Street. Although commonly associated with the city centre, Sau ...

. He remained minister of St Georges until death, but also (due to his father) took great interest in the development of the Church of Scotland Normal School (which played a vital role in Scottish education until the 1870s). He succeeded Very Rev James Bisset as Moderator in 1863 and in turn was succeeded by Rev

William Robinson Pirie William Robinson Pirie (1804–1885) was a Scottish minister who served as Principal of Aberdeen University. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1864, the highest position in the Church of Scotland. He acti ...

in 1864. He died at home at Sandyford Place on 20 August 1870. He is buried in the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian era, Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of St. Mungo's Cathedral, Glasgow, Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have ...

. The grave lies on the north side of the sloping path connecting the south-east corner of the upper plateau to the low-lying south section.

Family

On 8 November 1832 he was married to Margaret Grieve (1805–1883). She is buried with him.≤ Their children included Jane Paterson Craik, Margaret Craik, George Lillie Craik II, William Craik, Isabella Marion Craik, James Craik and Henry Craik (1846–1927).

References

1801 births 1870 deaths People from Kennoway Alumni of the University of St Andrews 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub