John MacDonald (1860–1947) was a Free Church of Scotland 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 1915.

Life

He was born in

Applecross Applecross ( , 'The Sanctuary', historically anglicized as 'Combrich') is a peninsula in Wester Ross, in the Scottish Highlands. It is bounded by Loch Kishorn to the south, Loch Torridon to the north, and Glen Shieldaig to the east. On its wes ...

in 1860, the son of John MacDonald, a seaman, and his wife Mary. He 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 ...

then at the Free Church Training College in Glasgow. He was ordained as a minister of the

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

Acharacle Acharacle (; , "Torquil's ford") is a village on the landward end of the Ardnamurchan peninsula in the Scottish Highlands, at the foot of Loch Shiel. The ford referred to in the name spans the River Shiel, and, according to legend, was the site ...

in 1891. in 1895 he was translated to

Raasay Raasay (; ), sometimes the Isle of Raasay, is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound, Scotland, Inner Sound. It is famous fo ...

. In the Union of 1900 he remained in the

Free Church A free church is any Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church neither defines government policy, nor accept church theology or policy definitions from the government. A f ...

. He transferred to

Rosskeen Rosskeen is a parish in Ross and Cromarty on the Cromarty Firth in northern Scotland, containing the settlements of Invergordon, Bridgend and Saltburn, Ross and Cromarty, Saltburn. It lies on the A9 between Inverness and Thurso. Notable Buildi ...

in April 1908 and remained there for the rest of his life. In 1915 he succeeded the Rev

Finlay MacRae Finlay Macrae (born 13 March 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. Finlay is the younger brother of player Jack Macrae, who formerly played for the Western Bulld ...

as Moderator of the General Assembly. He died on 22 April 1947 and is buried in Rosskeen Burial Ground.

Family

In September 1891, in Perth, he married Jane ("Jeannie") MacGregor (1871-1939) from

Fortingall Fortingall () (lit. "Escarpment Church"—i.e. "church at the foot of an escarpment or steep slope") is a small village in Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland. Its nearest sizable neighbours are Aberfeldy and Kenmore. Local legend claims that it ...

. They had several children:Aberdeen Weekly Journal 31 Jan 1895 *John Norman MacDonald (1895-1984) died in Camden. *Archibald MacDonald (1897-1911) died in his teens. *Alexander (Alastair) Roderick MacDonald (1899-1940) *Mary Jeanie MacDonald (1902-1921) died in her teens *Catherine MacDonald (b.1904) *Susan Isabella MacDonald (1906-1995) married Rev Donald Mackay.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:MacDonald, John 1860 births 1947 deaths Alumni of the University of Glasgow 19th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers People from Ross and Cromarty 20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers