William Taylor (Scottish minister)

William Taylor was born in 1744, the fifth son of Robert Taylor (possibly a land factor) of Trinity Gask in Perthshire. He received his early education in the parochial school in the neighbouring Parish of Fowlis (or Foullis) Wester and proceeded to Edinburgh University, where he graduated M.A. His initial (required) patronage is unclear, but he appears to have had very considerable influence, as his two charges within his career were the two most prestigious charges of western Scotland. It is speculated that his first patron was Henry Dundas, a highly influential figure in Scotland and/or Duke of Montrose. He was elected to represent the Paisley Presbytery in 1777. Firstly in July 1772, aged only 28, he was ordained to The High Kirk of Paisley, now more commonly called Paisley Abbey. In February 1780, under patronage of King George III he was presented to the congregation of St Mungo's in neighbouring Glasgow. St Mungo's is the more formal title of Glasgow Cathedral, the largest Church of Scotland cathedral in Scotland's largest city. However, as in St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh the interior was split into separate parishes. Taylor was only 36 years old when he took this role. It was a lucrative position, under the Patronage of the Crown, bringing him £400 per year, along with other perquisites, including a glebe. The Duke was, among many things, Chancellor of the University of Glasgow and Taylor strove for some time to get an appointment there. He mixed with the Professors in the College Literary Society and was popular with them. On 17 February 1783, the university awarded him the degree of Doctor of Divinity, ==Loyal party man==

He has been described as "a time serving party man". He seems to have been the author of a list of the Professors and their political sympathies sent to Ilay Campbell the Lord Justice General in 1800. ==Moderator of the General Assembly==

On 17 May 1798, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. In the troubled times of the war with France, and civil unrest at home, the King, in his letter to them, was anxious the Ministers should continue their efforts at properly instructing their parishioners. They were anxious, in a return letter were anxious to comply and expressed their devotion to him and his rule. They are sensible that all that is sacred to them as Christians, and dear to them as men, is at stake; and that, in resisting their impious and ourtrageous foes, they are not only defending a Sovereign whom they love and revere, and supporting a constitution under which they have long been happy, but defending, at the same time, their own families, their persons, and property. One of his printed sermons showed that Dr Taylor was anxious to continue the work he had begun as early as 1794. ==Principal of Glasgow University==

In 1803, upon the death of Principal Hamilton, Dr William Turner became Principal of the University of Glasgow, to which was attached a stipend of £600 per year. Taylor was allowed to continue with his post as Minister of the High Kirk (and its £400). It was strictly against Church law to hold a "plurality" of offices, and many objected. But it was argued that the Principalship was a merely honorific and ceremonial post that would not interfere with his Minister's duties and he took up post. (Dr William's son, defending the dual appointment of his successor, said the Principalship was "little more than a sinecure". There was also the problem that Dr Taylor, as Minister of the High Kirk, was "visitor" to the university – a role that involved inspecting its Accounts.) manipulated endowments of the university to their own profit. A piece of land given as a garden for the students to rest in had been sold, or rented, to the burgeoning industrial demands of the city. He did accept an offer from James Watt to endow an annual prize for the best student essay on scientific or mechanical topic. ==Other activities==

He was elected Honorary Burgess of the City of Glasgow and was appointed Librarian of Stirling's Library in 1791. In 1805, he was asked to chair a two-day, heated debate in the General Assembly on a complaint against the Professor of Natural Philosophy at Edinburgh University. Professor John Leslie had written an Essay on Heat, which was thought to echo too closely some sceptical philosophic views of David Hume, and were therefore "destructive of religion". The public crowded in to hear the obscure debates, but in the end, the Assembly dismissed the complaints. In 1806 we Dr Taylor is Moderator of Glasgow Presbytery where we find him remitting £888 1s 6 to London for the British and Foreign Bible Society. The next year, October 1807, Dr Taylor objected to a decision of the Presbytery, which banned all organ music in worship, as being contrary to the law of the land and of the Church. He promised to come back with his reasoning. He married Ann Stewart on 22 June 1773, a year after he had been ordained, and had six sons and three daughters by her. Principal Taylor died on 29 March 1823, having outlived his wife and all but one of his numerous children. (Another, unrelated but contemporary William Taylor was minister of St Enoch's Church in Glasgow, and became Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1806). ==Publications==

• The education of the children of the poor, in the principles of religion, a work of charity peculiarly excellent. A sermon, preached in the Tron Church of Edinburgh, on Sabbath, 29 May 1796; for the benefit of the Society in Scotland, for Promoting Religious Knowledge among the Poor. By William Taylor, D.D. ...Glasgow, The Courier Office, 1796 ==See also==