James Smith (1681–1736) was a

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 ...

minister in

Cramond Cramond Village (; ) is a village and suburb in the north-west of Edinburgh, Scotland, at the mouth of the River Almond where it enters the Firth of Forth. The Cramond area has evidence of Mesolithic, Bronze Age and Roman activity. In modern ...

and the

Principal of the University of Edinburgh Principals of the University of Edinburgh * 1586 Robert Rollock (Regent from 1583 to 1586) * 1599 Henry Charteris * 1620 Patrick Sands * 1622 Robert Boyd * 1623 John Adamson (died in office in 1652 but the original successor, William Co ...

from 1733 to 1736. He had been appointed

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

Divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

on 16 Feb 1732 and succeeded Dr William Hamilton in both offices. He was also twice

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 ...

Life

Little is known of his early life but he was born in 1681. He was private tutor to the children of Dalrymple of

Cousland Cousland is a village in Midlothian, Scotland. It is located east of Dalkeith and west of Ormiston, on a hill between the Rivers Tyne and Esk. History Cousland was a possession of the Sinclair family of Roslin from the late 12th century, and ...

and then to

Robert Dundas of Arniston, the Elder Robert Dundas of Arniston, the elder, 2nd Lord Arniston (1685–1753) was a Scottish lawyer, and Tory politician who sat in the House of Commons from 1722 to 1737. In 1728 he reintroduced into Scottish juries the possible verdicts of ''guilty' ...

.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott He was licensed to preach as a

minister by the Presbytery of

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

in October 1703. He was ordained as minister of

Morham Morham, East Lothian, sometimes spelt Moram, Morum, or Morhame in old records, is the smallest (agricultural) parish in Scotland, sandwiched between five other parishes: Haddington, East Lothian, Haddington, Garvald, East Lothian, Garvald, Yester ...

Parish Church in

East Lothian East Lothian (; ; ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland, as well as a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and Lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area. The county was called Haddingtonshire until 1921. In ...

in September 1706. He translated to

Parish Church in January 1712. Whilst there he served as

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 ...

in 1723 in succession to Rev William Mitchell. He served a second year as Moderator in 1731. In 1732 he accepted the post as Professor of Divinity at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

. In July 1733 he also took on the role as minister of New (West) Kirk in St Giles (only 500m from the university). He was also Chalain in Ordinary to the King. In October 1733 he was made Principal of the University of Edinburgh. He made a trip to

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

in the summer of 1736 but died at

Coldstream Coldstream () is a town and civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. A former burgh, Coldstream was where the Coldstream Guards, a regiment in the British Army, originated. Description Coldstream li ...

during the return journey on 14 August 1736.

Family

He was married to Catherine Oswald (1685-1730)

Publications

*Sermon after the Death of Rev James Craig (1731) *The Misery of Ignorant and Unconverted Sinners (1733)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, James Principals of the University of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 18th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 1681 births 1736 deaths