He was born in
Methven in
Perthshire in 1763. He studied divinity at the
University of St Andrews, and was licensed to preach by the
Church of Scotland in 1789. Awaiting a patron, he spent some time as the schoolteacher at
Trinity Gask, a small village west of
Perth. Not until February 1798 did he obtain a post as an assistant minister, rising to minister in October, at
Penicuik south of
Edinburgh. He then moved in quick succession to
Kilmarnock (1800) and then to Second charge of
St Andrew's Church on George Street in
Edinburgh (1801). In Edinburgh he also served as Chaplain to the 1st Battalion Edinburgh Volunteers. In 1808 he left the ministry to become Professor of Logic and Metaphysics at the
University of Edinburgh. At that time he lived at 104
Princes Street. In 1811 he was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh. His proposers were
Dr John Barclay,
Thomas Charles Hope, and
Rev Andrew Brown. The
University of Edinburgh awarded him an honorary doctorate (DD) in 1813. From 1802 he was Junior Clerk of the General Assembly and in 1814 he was elected Moderator. He was awarded an honorary
Doctor of Divinity (DD) by Edinburgh University in 1813. He retired in 1836 and died at home on 10 January 1844, at 28 Broughton Place in east Edinburgh. He is buried in
New Calton Burial Ground. ==Family==