William Mitchell (1670–1727) was a 17th/18th century Scottish 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 ...

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 ...

five times. He was Chaplain in Ordinary to the King (George I).

Life

He was born in

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

in 1670 the son of Rev William Mitchell, minister of

Footdee Footdee (), locally known as Fittie, is a picturesque area of Aberdeen, Scotland. A former fishing village, it lies at the entrance to Aberdeen Harbour Aberdeen Harbour, rebranded as the Port of Aberdeen in 2022, is a sea port located in ...

parish in Aberdeen, and his wife Margaret Cant. He was licensed to preach as a minister of the

by the Presbytery of Aberdeen around 1690. In 1695 he was ordained as "second charge" of

Canongate Kirk The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It i ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott In 1708 he was translated to the "second charge" of the Old Kirk of St Giles (then split into four parishes) in place of

William Carstares William Carstares (also Carstaires; 11 February 164928 December 1715) was a Scottish minister who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1705, 1708, 1711 and 1715. He was active in Whig politics and was Principal ...

. He was elected

in 1710, 1714, 1717, 1722 and 1726. In 1721 he translated from Old Kirk, St Giles to High Kirk, St Giles - both within the same building. He had great influence in the

Scottish Parliament The Scottish Parliament ( ; ) is the Devolution in the United Kingdom, devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. It is located in the Holyrood, Edinburgh, Holyrood area of Edinburgh, and is frequently referred to by the metonym 'Holyrood'. ...

adjacent to St Giles. In 1727 he was one of the Scottish elite sent to congratulate King George II on his ascension to the throne, but Mitchell died in

York York is a cathedral city in North Yorkshire, England, with Roman Britain, Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers River Ouse, Yorkshire, Ouse and River Foss, Foss. It has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a Yor ...

on 8 September 1727 before reaching his destination. His position at St Giles was filled by Robert Kinloch.

Family

In 1705 he married Margaret Cunningham, daughter of Hugh Cunningham and widow of James Stewart. Their children included: *Hugh (died young) *An infant daughter (died young) * Sir Andrew Mitchell MP (b. 1708) for Aberdeen 1747 to 1754 and for Elgin Burghs 1755 to 1771 In July 1723 he married Barbara Forbes, daughter of John Forbes and widow of Thomas Mitchell of Thainston, a baillie in Aberdeen.

Publications

*''The Diary of William Mitchell''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mitchell, William 1670 births 1727 deaths Clergy from Aberdeen Ministers of St Giles' Cathedral Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland