James Grant (January 23, 1800 – July 28, 1890) was a Scottish minister. Combining his religious skills with business skills he was also Director of Scottish Widows for 50 years (1840 to 1890) and

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 1854. During his period as Moderator he was styled as Right Rev James Grant and thereafter as Very Rev James Grant.

Life

He was born in the manse at Portmoak on the northern edge of Loch Leven on 23 January 1800, the son of Rev Andrew Grant, minister of Portmoak. He attended the

High School A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., ...

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 studied divinity at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

. He was licensed as a minister by the Presbytery of Edinburgh in February 1822. In August 1824 he was ordained as minister of

South Leith Parish Church North and South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. Prior to the union with the former North Leith Parish Church in 2024, the building was known as South Leith Parish Churc ...

in the harbour area of Edinburgh, where he stayed until 1843. The

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate (DD) in 1842. In 1843 he moved to St Mary's (Bellevue) Church in Edinburgh, in place of Rev Henry Grey who had left to join the Free Church in 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 ...

. He stayed at Bellevue until retiral in 1871. During this period he was chosen as

in 1854. The

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

awarded him an honorary doctorate Doctor of Civil Laws (DCL) during his period as Moderator. He then lived at 11 Northumberland Street in Edinburgh's Second New Town. From 1843 to 1860 he was Collector of the Ministers' Widows Fund and Director of the Scottish Widows Fund Assurance society from 1849 to 1890. From 1849 he was Caplain of the

Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally, ''upland'' refers to a range of hills, typically from up to , while ''highland'' is usually reserved for range ...

and Secretary of the Scottish Bible Society 1836 to 1874.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott In 1851 he had been elected a Fellow of the

Royal Society of Edinburgh The Royal Society of Edinburgh (RSE) is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was establis ...

, his proposer was John Russell. He was an honorary member of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh for 53 years. He resigned in 1871 and was replaced at St Mary's Bellevue by Rev Cornelius Giffen. He died on 28 July 1890. He is buried in

Warriston Cemetery Warriston Cemetery is a cemetery in List of graveyards and cemeteries in Edinburgh, Edinburgh. It lies in Warriston, one of the northern suburbs of Edinburgh, Scotland. It was built by the then newly-formed Edinburgh Cemetery Company, and o ...

with his wife. Their son is buried alongside.

Family

In April 1826 he married Jessie Anne Campbell (d.1881) youngest daughter of Colin Campbell of Achindoon in Argyleshire, and widow of Major Archibald Campbell of Braglen. They originally set up home at 3 Cassels Place in

Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

, the harbour district of Edinburgh. The house forms part of the Georgian terrace at the foot of Leith Walk. Their children included: * Agnes Willis Grant (1828-1855) * Andrew Grant (1830–1924) * Colin Campbell Grant WS (1830-1902) twin of Andrew. * Captain James Grant RN (1833-1909) * George Grant (1834-1848) * Margaret Campbell Grant (1836-1906) * Archibald Duncan Grant HEICS (b.1839)

Other roles of note

*Honorary Chaplain of the Highland Society (1828) *Chaplain of the Highland and Agricultural Society (1840–1890) *Honorary Chaplain (Pontifex Maximus) of the Harveian Society of Edinburgh (1844–1890)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Grant, James 1800 births 1890 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Royal Society of Edinburgh Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland