Guthrie, Thomas

Thomas Guthrie (1803-1873) trained as a Church of Scotland minister, working first in Arbirlot, Forfarshire, and then Old Greyfriars in Edinburgh, where he was given the new parish of St John's; he became involved in the controversy concerning lay patronage and was broke away with the Free Church at the Disruption of 1843. He organised a very successful campaign to raise money for the Manse Fund, then turned his attention to education of the poor with a pamphlet, A Plea for Ragged Schools in 1847, and the founding of 3 schools in Edinburgh. His preaching attracted audiences from far and wide, and he was later moderator of the Free Church. He had to retire from Free St John's in 1864 due to poor health, but continued to take an active interest in church and educational matters, and began to edit a periodical, the Sunday Magazine .

From the guide to the Letters from Thomas Guthrie to Blair and others, 1855., 1855-1856, (University of St Andrews)

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