PRESBYTERY OF ANNAN p. 616

DORNOCK.

The church was dedicated to St. Marjory.

1612. GEORGE CLEGHORNIE, A.M., bad his degree at the Univ. of St Andrews in 1597; continued, in old age, Aug. 1647. Clarence Home, his sister-in-law, died in 1612.-[Act. Rect. Univ. St And., Reg. Assig., Tombst., Commiss. to Gen. Ass. 1638, Peterkin's Records]

1662. ALEXANDER CRAWFORD, A.M., graduated at the Univ. of Edinburgh 22d July 1647, licen. by the Presb. of Dalkeith 2d Nov. 1652, deprived by the Acts of Parliament 11th June and of Privy Council 1st Oct. 1662; he was alive 5th June 1689.-(Edin. Grad., Wodrow's Hist.]

16-. WILLIAM AILLISONE, A.M., attained his degree at the Univ. of Edinburgh 8th July 1644, died 27th Sept. 1683, aged 63. The insicht, &c., was estimat at xxx ii vjs. viijd. Debita excedunt bona. He marr. Anna Armstrong, who died 13th Aug. 1693, aged 7 0, and had Thomas, surgeon in Comb, Robert, James, Jean, and Elizabeth.-[Edin. Grad., Test. Reg. (Dumf.), Tombst.]

1684. ALEXANDER FINNIE, A.M., acquired his degree at the Univ. of Edinburgh in 1676, was min. about two years and a half, but voluntarily relinquished his charge about two years and a half before the Revolution, from a conviction that the church of Rome was the true Church of Christ, for which he was deposed. He afterwards resided in Edinburgh, where he employed himself in writing verses, and lampooning the Presbyterian ministers. He was summoned to appear before the Presb. 9th March 1705, when he wrote the following, "Moderator, I thought I could not salva conscientia answer to the Presbyteries summonds, least my compearing might be construed an homologation of its authority, which I cannot own either as a member of the Romish Church, or as being Episcopal in my judgment. I thought it was not safe to compear to give an account of the motives which engaged me to leave the Protestant Communion, lest doing so I might be thought to impugne the doctrines of the Church established by law in this kingdom, and so fall under the lash of the penal lawes. And though you could assure me that there was no hazard that way, yet I being a laick in the Society, of which I am a member, I thought it was not safe for me to enter in debate, let the truth should suffer through my weaknes, and though I were a priest and ten times better qualified than I am, I thought I would be esteemed imprudent to enter in the list with so many, especially when I have no assurance but all or many may speak at once, as zeal prompts men sometimes to do. For these reasons I do not compear. But seeing you will insist and force me to give an account of the reasones which induced me to turn papist, I shall give you as many of them in write the next presbytery day, as I think may suffice to give you charitable thoughts of me, that in turning papist I followed the dictats of my reasone, and conduct of my conscience, which method, since you recommend to all, and make use of yourselves as the only defence of the Reformation, both as to the government and doctrine, it will be thought strange if you blame it in the poor poet, Alex. Finnie." The Presb., 29th August following, found he deserved the highest censures of the Church, even the dreadful sentence of the higher Excommunication. He died 8th Sept 1707, aged about 50.-Publications-Three of his satirical effusions on Mr