John Crombie (1789–1872) 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 ...

, 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 1856.

Life

He was born in 1789 the son of Francis Crombie, a schoolteacher, and his wife, Jean Fair. He studied at

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 ...

, graduating MA in 1822.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott He was ordained at St Andrew's Scots Church in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

in January 1819. Whilst in London

awarded him 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 ...

in 1832. Crombie translated to

Aberlemno Aberlemno (, IPA: �opəɾˈʎɛunəx is a Civil parishes in Scotland, parish and small village in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Angus, Scotland, Angus. It is noted for three large carved Pictish stones (and one fragment) dating from t ...

in September 1841. Staying in the established 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 translated to Scone (near Perth) in March 1844. In 1856 he succeeded

Andrew Bell Andrew Bell may refer to: * Andrew Bell (artist) (born 1978), British-born American toy designer * Andrew Bell (engraver) (1726–1809), Scottish co-founder of the ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' * Andrew Bell (educationalist) (1753–1832), Scottish ...

Linlithgow Linlithgow ( ; ; ) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a historic route between Edi ...

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 ...

, the highest position in the Scottish Church. He was succeeded in turn by James Robertson. He died on 4 December 1872.

Family

In October 1827 he married Frances Liddle (d.1850) of St Dunstan's in

Stepney Stepney is an area in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. Stepney is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name was applied to ...

. They had several children: *Frances (b.1833) *Jean (b.1835) *Isabella Christie Crombie (b.1840) married Rev John Martin of

Bonhill Bonhill (; ) is a town in the Vale of Leven area of West Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It is sited on the Eastern bank of the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven, on the opposite bank from the larger town of Alexandria, Scotland, Alexandria. ...

, died in

Welshpool Welshpool ( ) is a market town and Community (Wales), community in Powys, Wales, historically in the Historic counties of Wales, county of Montgomeryshire. The town is from the Wales–England border and low-lying on the River Severn. The c ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

*John Liddle Crombie (1842-1920) doctor in

North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...

BMJ obituaries: 8 May 1920 *Louisa Crombie (1844-1920) died in Perth

Publications

*''Statistical Account of Aberlemno'' (1845) *''The Character and Offices of Christ''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Crombie, John 1789 births 1872 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland