Thomas Brown William Niven (15 March 1834 – 17 December 1914) was a Scottish minister. He served as

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 Asse ...

in 1906.

Life

Thomas was born in the manse at

Balfron Balfron ( gd, Both Fron) is a village in the Stirling council area of Scotland. It is situated near Endrick Water on the A875 road, 18 miles (29 km) west of Stirling and 16 miles (26 km) north of Glasgow. Although a rural settlement, i ...

on 15 March 1834 the son of Rev Dr Alexander Niven, the local minister since 1825. He came from a long line of Scottish clergy. He was educated privately then studied divinity at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

. He began his ministry in May 1858 at the Mission in

Renton, West Dunbartonshire Renton (Scottish Gaelic: ''An Reantan''; Scots: ''The Renton'') is a village in West Dunbartonshire, in the west Central Lowlands of Scotland. In the 2001 National Census it had a population of 2,138. Renton is particularly famous for the vil ...

but within a year moved to assist at St George's Church in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. Through a connection to the

Earl of Stair Earl of Stair is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. It was created in 1703 for the lawyer and statesman John Dalrymple, 2nd Viscount of Stair. Dalrymple's father, James Dalrymple, had been a prominent lawyer; having served as Lord Presiden ...

he was ordained to preach at Cranstoun in October 1859. In 1868 he moved to the Glasgow Tron Church. In 1872 he moved again to

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) 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 o ...

where he found the manse pleasing. However, his puritanical spirit called him to a more humble life, and he moved back to do Mission work in 1876, this time in

Pollokshields Pollokshields ( gd, Buthan Phollaig, Scots: ''Powkshiels'') is an area in the Southside of Glasgow, Scotland. Its modern boundaries are largely man-made, being formed by the M77 motorway to the west and northwest with the open land of Pollok C ...

one of Glasgow's poorer districts. He stayed here for the remainder of his working life, living at Coldstream House on Albert Road. In 1893 the University of Edinburgh awarded him an honorary doctorate (DD). He retired in 1911 and was succeeded by Rev Norman Caie DD. He retired to the

New Town New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created. New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz Albums and EPs * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator ...

living at 40 Northumberland Street.Edinburgh and Leith Post Office Directory 1911-12 He died on 17 December 1914.

References

1834 births 1914 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub