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Author: Hetherington, William Maxwell

Biography:

Hetherington, William Maxwell (1803-65: ODNB)

Born at Troqueer, near Dumfries, he was the son of Robert Hetherington, a gardener, and Anne (Maxwell) Hetherington. He was educated at the parish school and trained as a gardener, but in 1822 he entered the University of Edinburgh where he became a distinguished scholar. His Twelve Dramatic Sketches were published when he was preparing to enter the church. In 1836 he became minister at Torpichen, Linlithgow, and married Jessie Meek; they were to have two sons. He published History of the Church of Scotland in 1843, the year when Hetherington was a key figure in founding the Free Church. The family moved to St Andrews where he commenced publishing and editing the Free Church Magazine, contributed to periodicals, and issued various works including sermons. He became minister of Free St Paul’s, Edinburgh, in 1848 and was appointed professor of theology at Glasgow University in 1857. His role in the Free Church earned him fame outside of Scotland: he was made LLD by the College of New Brunswick and DD by Jefferson College, Pennsylvania. He died at Glasgow and is buried in Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh. (ODNB 5 Mar. 2019; ancestry.co.uk 5 Mar. 2019)

 

Other Names:

  • W. M. Hetherington
 

Books written (1):

Edinburgh/ London: Constable and Co./ Hurst, Chance, and Co., 1829