James Pearson (1594–1658) was a minister of 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 the 17th century. He was appointed minister of

Dunblane Dunblane (, ) is a town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links to much of the Central Be ...

in 1624 and became

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

Dunblane Cathedral Dunblane Cathedral is the larger of the two Church of Scotland parish churches serving Dunblane, near the city of Stirling, in central Scotland. The lower half of the tower is pre- Romanesque from the 11th century, and was originally free-stan ...

. Nine years later, he was given a charter under the Great Seal of the Barony of Kippenross. Pearson was also the laird of Kippenross.

Early life and career

Pearson was born in Kippenross,

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 1594, to Alexander Pearson and Bessie Eistoun. He graduated from 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 ...

, with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

, in 1615. In 1623, Pearson was appointed minister of

, and became

the following year. Pearson lost his job as minister during the overthrow of the episcopacy.

Personal life

Pearson married Jean, daughter of David Drummond of Innermay, with whom he had three sons and a daughter. Around 1624, Pearson built the townhouse in Dunblane which is now the home of Dunblane Museum. Pearson's initials and the

coat-of-arms A coat of arms is a heraldic visual design on an escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the last two being outer garments), originating in Europe. The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central element of the full heraldic achiev ...

on the carved plaque are his. The first floor of the main block was likely his townhouse.THE CROSS, CATHEDRAL MUSEUM, INCLUDING RESIDENTIAL PROPERTIES TO SOUTH ADJOINING BURGH CHAMBERS AND WELL TO REAR
–

Historic Environment Scotland Historic Environment Scotland (HES) () is an executive non-departmental public body responsible for investigating, caring for and promoting Scotland's historic environment. HES was formed in 2015 from the merger of government agency Historic Sc ...

His grandson, Hugh, planted the Beech Walk, beside

Allan Water The Allan Water () is a river in central Scotland. Rising in the Ochil Hills, it runs through Strathallan to Dunblane and Bridge of Allan before joining the River Forth. It is liable to cause floods in lower Bridge of Allan. It shares its ...

at the original 1646 Kippenross House. The Kippenross estate remained in the Pearson family until 1778, when it passed to the Stirlings of Kippendavie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearson, James 1594 births 1658 deaths People from Dunblane 17th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 17th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity