Quick Facts
Biography
Rev Dr Andrew Wallace Williamson, KCVO, DD (29 December 1856 – 10 July 1926) was a Church of Scotland minister who was Dean of the Thistle. He was Moderator of the General Assembly in 1913.
Life
Born in Thornhill, Dumfriesshire on 29 December 1856, he was educated at Wallace Hall Academy and the University of Edinburgh. He was Assistant Minister at North Leith Parish Church and then Minister at St Cuthbert's, Edinburgh. During this time he was also a lecturer in pastoral theology at his old university. He received the honorary degree Doctor of Divinity (DD) from the University of St Andrews in 1900. In 1909 he was appointed first minister at St Giles' Cathedral and the following year Dean of the Thistle and Dean of the Chapel Royal. In 1913 he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, the highest position in the Scottish church.
He lived at 44 Palmerston Place in Edinburgh's fashionable West End.
An Honorary Chaplain to the King, he died on 10 July 1926 and is buried on the central path of the northern extension to Dean Cemetery in western Edinburgh.
His biography was written by Lord Sands.
His more noteworthy roles included conducting the funeral of Sir Hector MacDonald and being on the committee for the design and building of the Scottish National War Memorial.
Family
He was married to Elizabeth Mary Phoebe Croall (1860–1946). They had two daughters and a son.
His son Robert Howard Wallace Williamson died in 1962 and is buried in Warriston Cemetery.
Publications
- The Methodist Church (1884)
- The Place and Power of Woman (1892)
- Social Unrest (1895)
- Ideals of Ministry (1901)
- Dr John MacLeod: His Work and Teraching (1901)
