Robert Douglas (c.1630–1716) was a 17th and early 18th

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 rose to be Protestant

Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotlan ...

Life

He was the son of Robert Douglas of Nether Kilmonth, and grandson of James Douglas of

Glenbervie Glenbervie (Scottish Gaelic: ''Gleann Biorbhaidh'') is located in the north east of Scotland in the Howe o' the Mearns, one mile from the village of Drumlithie and eight miles south of Stonehaven in Aberdeenshire. The river Bervie runs through ...

, both relatives of the

Earls of Angus The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish Provinces of Scotland, province of Angus, Scotland, Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is held by the Duke of Hamilton, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldes ...

. He was educated at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

, graduating MA in 1647, before beginning life as a preacher around 1650. He became the minister of

Laurencekirk Laurencekirk (, , ), locally known as Lournie or simply 'The Kirk', is a small town in the historic county of Kincardineshire, Scotland, just off the A90 Dundee to Aberdeen main road. It is administered as part of Aberdeenshire. It is the l ...

in the Mearns in January 1657, then

Bothwell Bothwell () is a Protected area, conservation village in the South Lanarkshire council area of Scotland and part of the Greater Glasgow area. It lies on the north bank of the River Clyde, adjacent to Uddingston and Hamilton, Scotland, Hamilton, ...

in 1665 and

Renfrew Renfrew (; ; ) is a town west of Glasgow in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. It is the historic county town of Renfrewshire. Called the "Cradle of the Royal Stewarts" for its early link with Scotland's former royal house, Renfrew gaine ...

in 1669. After the Restoration, King Charles II presented him to the

parsonage A clergy house is the residence, or former residence, of one or more priests or ministers of a given religion, serving as both a home and a base for the occupant's ministry. Residences of this type can have a variety of names, such as manse, pa ...

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: * Alexander Hamilton (1755/1757–1804), first U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States * ''Hamilton'' (musical), a 2015 Broadway musical by Lin-Manuel Miranda ** ''Hamilton'' (al ...

, a position which came with the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residence of ...

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 ...

. In 1682 he became

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is a title held successively, since c. 1150: (firstly) by bishops of the Catholic church until the Reformation of 1560; (secondly) by bishops of the Church of Scotland until that church declared itself presbyterian in ...

, holding that bishopric for two years before being translated to the

in August 1684. Douglas was

until the abolition of

Episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...

in Scotland following the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

which then deprived Douglas and all other Scottish bishops of their sees. He died on 22 April 1716 in

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

, at "the uncommon age of 92".Keith, ''Historical Catalogue'', p. 183.

Family

He married twice. Firstly to Miss Irvine of Drum, by whom he had Rev Robert Douglas, minister of Bothwell. He next married Elizabeth Lammy daughter of Rev Sylvester Lammy of

Glamis Glamis is a small village in Angus, Scotland, located south of Kirriemuir and southwest of Forfar. It is the location of Glamis Castle, the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. History The vicinity of Glamis has prehistoric t ...

. Their children included: *Sylvester Douglas of Whiteriggs in

the Mearns Kincardineshire or the County of Kincardine, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of north-east Scotland. It is bounded by Abe ...

*William Douglas (1666–1746), later became Provost of

Forfar Forfar (; , ) is the county town of Angus, Scotland, and the administrative centre for Angus Council, with a new multi-million-pound office complex located on the outskirts of the town. As of 2021, the town had a population of 16,280. The town ...

*George *James *Katherine, married Dr George Reid of

*Susanna, married Charles White of

*A daughter, married Provost Dean of

Notes

References

* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924) 1716 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Bishops of Brechin (Church of Scotland) Bishops of Dunblane 17th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Scottish Episcopalian deans Year of birth unknown Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1685–1686 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689 Scottish Restoration bishops Year of birth uncertain {{Scotland-bishop-stub