John Campbell (1758–1828) 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 who 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 1818.

Life

He was born 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 ...

on 24 May 1758 the son of Daniel Campbell, a merchant. He was educated at

Glasgow Grammar School The High School of Glasgow is a Private schools in the United Kingdom, private, co-educational day school, day school in Glasgow, Scotland. The original High School of Glasgow was founded as the Cathedral school, choir school of Glasgow Cathedra ...

then studied at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

. In August 1781 he was licensed to preach as a Church of Scotland minister by the Presbytery of Glasgow.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott His first role (1782) was as private chaplain to

Willielma Campbell Willielma Campbell, Viscountess Glenorchy (1741–17 July 1786) was a patroness of evangelical missionary work and founder of several chapels in Scotland, England and Wales. Life Willielma Maxwell was born, in Galloway, as the daughter ...

, Lady Glenorchy. In that capacity he may have assisted Rev

Thomas Snell Jones Thomas Snell Jones (1754–1837) was a senior English-born Presbyterian minister operational in Scotland outside the Church of Scotland. Life He was born in Gloucester on 11 May 1754. He was orphaned at an early age and cared for by a Wesley ...

for a year at

Lady Glenorchy's Church Lady Glenorchy's Church or Chapel in Edinburgh was a church founded in the 18th century by Willielma Campbell, Viscountess Glenorchy. It was made a quoad sacra parish, ''quoad sacra'' parish in 1837. History The chapel was founded by Willielm ...

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 ...

(but as a Church of Scotland minister could not officially preside as the General Assembly did not approve of this privately built chapel). In May 1783 he was ordained as minister of

Kippen Kippen is a village in west Stirlingshire, Scotland. It lies between the Gargunnock Hills and the Fintry Hills and overlooks the Carse of Forth to the north. The village is west of Stirling and north of Glasgow. It is south-east of Loch Lo ...

. After two decades there, in October 1805 he was chosen as minister of Tolbooth parish, one of the four parishes contained within the subdivided

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

as second charge under Rev

Thomas Randall Davidson Thomas Randall Davidson (1747–1827) was a Church of Scotland minister and landowner. Life He was born Thomas Randall in July 1747, the son of Rev Thomas Randall (b.1710), minister of Inchture west of Dundee. Early education was at least i ...

. In 1806 he was chosen as Secretary of the

Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge The Society in Scotland for Propagating Christian Knowledge, or the SSPCK, was a group established in Scotland to promote the better understanding of the principles of the reformed Christian religion, principally through the established Church of S ...

and in 1807 was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

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 ...

. He is listed as living at Society Hall on the Netherbow. In May 1818 he succeeded Rev Gavin Gibb as

, and was succeeded in turn in 1819 by Rev Duncan Macfarlan. He lived his final years at 45 Albany StreetEdinburgh Post Office Directory 1828 and died there on 30 August 1828 and was buried in

Greyfriars Kirkyard Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 1 ...

Family

In 1788 he married Christian Innes daughter of Robert Innes of Gifford Vale, a country house north of

Gifford, East Lothian } Gifford is a village in the parish of Yester in East Lothian, Scotland. It lies approximately south of Haddington and east of Edinburgh. It groups around the Colstoun Water (locally called Gifford Water) at the junction of the B6369 and B ...

. Christian died in April 1796. In October 1801 he married Jean Kinnear daughter of Thomas Kinnear a Director of the

Bank of Scotland The Bank of Scotland plc (Scottish Gaelic: ''Banca na h-Alba'') is a commercial bank, commercial and clearing (finance), clearing bank based in Edinburgh, Scotland, and is part of the Lloyds Banking Group. The bank was established by the Par ...

. their children included: *Daniel (1803-1809) *Elizabeth (b.1806) *Mary (b.1808) married Rev James Barclay Mellis of

Tealing Tealing (Scottish Gaelic: Tèalainn) is a village in Angus, Scotland, Angus in eastern Scotland, nestled at the foot of the Sidlaw Hills. It is just north of the city of Dundee and south of Forfar. With a population of just over 700 people livi ...

*Jane (b.1810) *Margaret (b.1814) married Charles James Kerr *Jane married Rev Dr John Gordon Lorimer (1804-1868) grandparents to John Gordon Lorimer

Publications

*Reflections on the Death of HRH Princess Charlotte (1817) *The Acclamation of the Redeemed (1818) *A Sermon After the Interment of Robert Balfour DD (1818)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Campbell, John 1758 births 1828 deaths Clergy from Glasgow Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Burials at Greyfriars Kirkyard People educated at the High School of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow