Roderick McLeod (1794–1868) was a Scottish minister of the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states t ...

1863/64.

Life

He was born at Glen Haltin on

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated ...

in 1794, the son of Rev McLeod parish minister of

Snizort Snizort is an area of the Isle of Skye comprising the head of Loch Snizort and the western coast of Trotternish Trotternish or Tròndairnis (Scottish Gaelic) is the northernmost peninsula of the Isle of Skye, in Scotland. Its most northerly poi ...

, and grandson of McLeod of

Raasay Raasay (; gd, Ratharsair) or 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. It is famous for being the bi ...

. Roderick studied Divinity at

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

. He was licensed to preach by the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

's Presbytery of Skye and began work in a mission at Lynedale in his father's parish in 1818. He was translated to

Bracadale Bracadale ( gd, Bracadal) is a settlement and parish on the Isle of Skye in Scotland. It lies on the west coast of the island, west-south-west of Portree, on Loch Beag, an inlet off Loch Harport. Nearby settlements include Struan to the west and ...

. He was suspended for refusing to baptise a child. In 1823 he was translated to

in 1838 to replace his father. He left 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 S ...

to join the Free Church of Scotland and rapidly became the dominant figure representing the Free Church on Skye and surrounding islands. In 1863 he succeeded Rev

Thomas Guthrie Thomas Guthrie FRSE (12 July 1803 – 24 February 1873) was a Scottish divine and philanthropist, born at Brechin in Angus (at that time also called Forfarshire). He was one of the most popular preachers of his day in Scotland, and was associ ...

as Moderator of the General Assembly, the highest position in the Free Church. He was succeeded in turn in 1864 by Rev

Patrick Fairbairn Patrick Fairbairn (28 January 1805 – 6 August 1874) was a Scottish Free Church minister and theologian. He was Moderator of the General Assembly 1864/65. Early life and career He was born in Halyburton, Greenlaw, Berwickshire, on 28 J ...

. He became ill in 1864 but continued his work, but died in April 1868 and his position at Snizort was filled by the Rev Joseph Lamont.

Family

He was married to Anne R. McDonald of Skeabost (d.1856). They had thirteen children. His sister Isabella Margaret McLeod married Rev John Finlayson, who had replaced him as minister of

References

;Citations ;Sources * * * * * * * * * * * 1794 births 1868 deaths People from the Isle of Skye Alumni of the University of Aberdeen 19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub