John Gillespie (moderator)

He was born in Johnstone by Lockerbie in 1836 the third son of Margaret Johnstone and her husband, James Gillespie who farmed at Annanbank, Johnstone. He was educated at Newton Wamphray. After obtaining a Masters in Divinity in Glasgow he served the parish of Mouswald in Dumfriesshire as a minister of the Church of Scotland from 1865 to 1912. The Gillespie Memorial Hall in Mouswald is named after him.[2]

From 1892 he served as a county councillor for Dumfriesshire representing the district of Mouswald.

A keen supporter of the local farmers he was nicknamed the Minister for Agriculture. He was Secretary of the Galloway Cattle Society and endowed a silver cup at the Royal Highland Show for best Galloway cattle.[3]

THE LATE DR GILLESPIE

(From the Dumfries and Galloway Standard 17 February 1912)

The Very Rev. Dr John Gillespie died this (Wednesday) morning [14 February 1912]. At Mouswald Manse, at half past seven o’clock in his 76th year. In him has passed away a distinguished churchman, a man eminent in the agricultural sphere, a leader in the work of local government, one whose abounding energy made itself felt for good in many directions, and who was withal the embodiment of kindliness and good humour. For about two years Dr Gillespie had been an invalid, enjoying only brief periods of partial recovery. His last public appearance was at the show of the Highland and Agricultural Society at Dumfries in July 1910. To gratify his strong desire he was permitted to leave his room, and motored to the show field at the Park where he made a circuit of the herding sections in a carriage, and was warmly received by colleagues with whom he had shared the Labours connected with many previous exhibitions. For some months past he had been able to take carriage exercise, in the company of members of his devoted family: but during the last ten days there had been a change for the worse. This morning his medical adviser, Dr Clarke, Dumfries, was summoned by telephone message from Collin; but the patient had passed away before he arrived. In consequence of his illness Dr Gillespie had recently tendered his resignation of the numerous public appointments which he held, including that of junior clerk of the General Assembly; and the death of Dr Norman McLeod has rendered the senior clerkship also vacant.

Dr Gillespie came of an old agricultural stock in the South of Scotland, where his ancestors were connected with farming for over two centuries, and he himself combined the prosecution of that industry with his pastoral duties in an eminently successful degree. He was born in 1836 at Annanbank, in the parish of Wamphray, Dumfriesshire, his father being a well-known Annandale agriculturalist. Dr Gillespie received his elementary education at Wamphray, in a humble public school which enjoyed the unique distinction of sending out no fewer than three Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the other two, in addition to the subject of this notice being the late Professor Charteris of the University of Edinburgh, and the late Rev. Dr John Pagan, Bothwell. Dr Gillespie continued his early education at Dumfries Academy, of which he was dux, and he attended Glasgow University from 1852 till 1861, carrying of many prizes in his classes, and securing the degree of M.A. in 1857. He had as contemporaries of the same year such distinguished men as the late Principal Grant, Queens College, Canada; the late Rev. Dr Norman McLeod, Inverness and his brother the late Rev. Dr John McLeod of Govan. During his student days it was his wont to spend his vacation at his father’s farm and he sometimes tried “a ha’d at the plough” though only with indifferent success, as is borne out by a story he was fond of telling at gatherings of ploughmen. On one occasion when he was following the plough during the University recess, he discovered, on looking over his shoulder, his father eyeing his work critically at the end of the furrow, His father’s comment afterwards “A wonderful shape, John; nut I often lost you and the house out o’ sigh” – a severe hint about the unevenness of the furrow. Dr Gillespie was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Paisley in 1861, and he acted as the assistant there to the late Dr Alison, afterwards of Newington, Edinburgh, for nine months. Shortly after bring licensed, he occupied the pulpit in his native district, and his father and mother drove to the church to hear their son preaching for the first time. The first part of the drive home was in silence, and Dr Gillespie often related how his father was the first to speak, remarking to his wife “I doot, we should ha’e wrought John.” The misgiving was dispelled by seeing their son rise to eminence in Church and State. Leaving Paisley in 1862, he became assistant to the Rev. Dr Stevenson, Dalry, and was there for three and a half years. In 1865 the parish of Mouswald became vacant, and the late rev. Dr Andrew Gray, of Dalkeith, was succeeded by Dr Gillespie, who for the long period of forty-seven years has performed the duties of minister of the parish with fidelity and much acceptance. The parish is a compact one, and with only a population of some 600 persons and no house further than two miles distant, Dr Gillespie found time to perform a large amount of work outside his pastoral duties. He used often to quote the saying that “tho’ a man was fond o’ the Kirk, he need not aye be riding on the rigging of it.” He took the keenest interest in the affairs of his parish, and in everything that pertained to the welfare of the residents. For many years he acted as chairman of Mouswald School Board, and served for a number of years also on the Parish Council. His activities, however, found a much wider field than the bounds of the parish, and for a lengthened period he was chairman of Dumfries District Committee of the County Council, discharging the duties of that office with tact and ability. He was also a member of the County Council, chairman of the Agricultural Committee of the county, a member of the County Road Board, and a member of the County Education Committee. Dr Gillespie had the degree LL.D. conferred upon him by his Alma Mater in 1897 in recognition of his public services; and he was appointed Moderator of the General Assembly in 1903. For many years before that he had attracted considerable notice by his outstanding business capacity, and his breezy and robust eloquence. In 1897 he was convener of the Smaller Living Committee, and that time he travelled all over Scotland to advocate that scheme, his labours being followed with much fruit. During Dr Scott’s moderatorship he was appointed convenor of the business committee, a position which carried with it the leadership of the house. His knowledge of ecclesiastical law fitted him in a special manner for the position of clerk, and he acted as clerk of Lochmaben Presbytery and of Dumfries Synod for over thirty years. He was also in May, 1907 appointed Junior Clerk of the General Assembly, a position which he recently resigned. Dr Gillespie was, however, most widely known as an agriculturalist, and he spent a large portion of his time and activities in the study of agricultural questions and in the furtherance of agricultural education. He was one of the pioneers of the West of Scotland Agricultural College, and acted as chairman of the governors until a short time ago, when long-continued ill health led him to relinquish this and his other appointments. He was also chairman of the Joint Board for conferring the national agricultural and dairy diplomas. He took a deep interest in the cultivation of his glebe, and in addition had a piece of land , where he reared Galloway cattle, his favourite breed of stock. He was secretary of the Galloway Cattle Society and editor of the herd book. Many years ago he undertook a trip to the United States for the purpose of advocating the claims of the black polled cattle. Dr Gillespie acted on several Government departmental committees. One of these was the committee appointed to inquire and report as to a plague of voles which over-ran a number of farms in Nithsdale and Annandale in Dumfriesshire, and devoured pasture in the most wholesale manner. Dr Gillespie himself was largely instrumental in starting the agitation, and when a committee was appointed he was asked to serve upon it. The committee held meetings at Thornhill – Sir Herbert Maxwell, Bart. Of Montreith being chairman, and they took a large amount of evidence, and presented an interesting report. Before the report was presented, however, the voles had disappeared as mysteriously as they had come. During the time of the plague owl were attracted to the district in large numbers, and the long-eared variety which had disappeared for many years re-visited the district. Dr Gillespie had been a director of the Highland and Agricultural Society for over thirty years, and for two years was chairman of the directors and latterly its treasurer. He had long been a convenor of the publications committee, and he was a regular and voluminous writer in the society’s “transactions”. Dr Gillespie wrote a manual on the Agricultural Holdings Acts, contributed frequent articles on agricultural topics and live stock to the agricultural periodicals and the stock annuals, and frequently officiated as an arbiter. He was a prince of storytellers, and in 1904 he published a book entitled “Humours of Scottish Life” in which he collected many of his best anecdotes. He acted as factor on several properties, one of these being the estate of Mouswald Place, until the coming of age of the Lord Chancellor’s nephew. Dr Gillespie was keenly interested in sport and was chaplain of the Dumfriesshire Hunt. He used to tell with great glee at its festive gatherings how as a boy he had followed the hounds in a carriage and pair, “the pair being his own stout legs”. On the ice he was both a keen and true player and the prince of good fellows. Another of the stories which he sometimes related at his own expenses was the remark of a Paisley curler who saw him as a stripling throw a stone and explained – “That’s a guid fermer spoiled.” Another allusion to his massive presence and also to his bucolic activities, which he sometimes recalled, had reference to his appearance at Glasgow University to receive the degree of LL.D. As he walked up the floor a humorous student exclaimed – “What a pair of Galloway calves.” Dr Gillespie was one of the most outstanding personalities in the South of Scotland, and commanded the respect and admiration of all classes of the community, active and energetic as he was in many spheres of public usefulness, and ever ready to render a personal service. His exertions in the cause of agriculture and of agricultural education were acknowledged in a substantial way in December , 1902, when he was presented with 700 guineas from the farmers of Scotland and the people of Dumfriesshire. His parishioners and friends also made Dr and Mrs Gillespie a presentation on the occasion of his appointment as Moderator of the General Assembly. In September, 1903, and on several subsequent occasions Dr Gillespie preached before the late King Edward in Crathie Church, as was his Majesty’s guest at Balmoral Castle. At these times he met a number of distinguished personages. He showed himself equally at home with King and peasant. He was also summoned to attend the court at Buckingham Place. Dr Gillespie’s commanding presence at agricultural and other public gatherings will be missed for days to come in the south country. His sparkling wit and breezy saying brightened many meetings, and his geniality, his kindness of heart, and his unwearied services for the public weal marked him out at once as one of the most useful and most popular of men. He married Miss Jessie Crichton, eldest daughter of the late Mr John Patrick of Greenbank, by whom is survived and by five daughters. One is the wife of Mr William Halliday Gillespie of Burma and is at present home on a visit.

The interment is to take place on Saturday (today), leaving the Manse at 2.15 for the neighbouring churchyard. Here is the old burial place of his family, whom were in the past generations farmers in the parish which Dr Gillespie fame has made so widely known.

In 1868 he married Jessie K C Patrick of Dalry, Ayrshire (b.1846). They had five daughters, Margaret J (1871), Elizabeth L C (1874). Jessie P (1877), Mary R T (1887).

• The Humours of Scottish Life (1904)[4]