History of Knox Church Dunedin/Chapter 20
CHAPTER XX.
Biographical Sketch of the Rev. Mr Davidson up to the time of his leaving the Home Country for Dunedin.
THE story of the Rev. Mr Davidson's appointment as junior pastor of Knox Church would be incomplete without some account of that gentleman's previous career. It is believed that the following sketch will not be unacceptable to the readers of this history.
Alexander Pringle Davidson was born near Stranraer, in Wigtownshire, Scotland, on February 20, 1854, and received his early education from his father, who, after being a teacher there, removed to Edinburgh in order to devote himself to the education of his family, of whom six sons have been educated at the University of Edinburgh. The subject of this memoir is the eldest, and was a pupil-teacher under his father from his thirteenth year. Having gained the Galloway Bursary, tenable for three years, he entered the Edinburgh University, where he studied for five years—from 1871 to 1876, attending several classes in addition to those required for the degree in arts. He specially distinguished himself in classics, gained a Bruce Scholarship in 1874, and graduated M.A. in 1877. Mr Davidson then entered on the four years' course of study in Divinity at the New College, Edinburgh, and while so engaged he devoted a portion of his time and energies to city home-mission and literary work. For one year (1879) he took charge of a mission district in the Pleasance, in connection with Free St. Paul's Church, Edinburgh.
On completing his course at the New College in 1881, Mr Davidson took up his residence for a time in Berlin, Germany, and further prosecuted his studies at the university there. During the vacancy caused by the transference of the Rev. Dr Gray from Naples to Rome, Mr Davidson was appointed by the Free Church Continental Committee to take charge for four months of the Presbyterian Church and schools at Naples.[1] On returning to 
REV. A. P. DAVIDSON, M.A.
Scotland in the latter part of 1882 he was appointed assistant minister to the Rev. John Fraser, of the Free West Church, Brechin, Forfarshire, and was licensed to preach by the Free Presbytery of Edinburgh in 1883. This assistantship, founded in 1877 by a bequest of the late David Duke, Esq., of Esk Park, Brechin, has been held by a succession of able men, beginning with Mr John Rae, author of "Contemporary Socialism," &c., and including the Rev. George Adam Smith, the eloquent expositor of Isaiah, and the late gifted and lamented Rev. E. W. Barbour, of Bonskeid. While at Brechin Mr Davidson was invited by the Rev. Dr Saphir, of London, to become his assistant, and had the offer of an appointment as Professor of English Literature on the staff of one of the Colleges in India, but he decided to continue his work there till, in 1886, he received and accepted a unanimous call to the Free Church of St. Fergus, Aberdeenshire. At Mr Davidson's departure from Brechin, where he had laboured with great acceptance and success for three and a half years, much regret was expressed not only by the members of the Free West Church, but by many friends outside the congregation, who, at a well-attended farewell meeting, cordially united in asking his acceptance of a purse of sovereigns as a mark of the esteem in which he was held during his residence amongst them.
It has already been mentioned that, while prosecuting his college studies in Edinburgh, Mr Davidson devoted a large portion of his spare time to literary work. He was assistant editor of the "Globe Encyclopædia," published in six large volumes (Edinburgh, 1876–79); he was afterwards a member of Messrs W. and E. Chamber's literary staff, in which his brother, Mr Thomas Davidson, now holds a prominent position; and he assisted the late Dr Findlater in the preparation of the second edition of "Chambers's Etymological Dictionary" (Edinburgh, 1882). During his ministry at St. Fergus he found time (as some of his predecessors in that charge had done before him) to keep up his connection with literary work. He has taken part in the preparation of the new edition of "Chambers's Encyclopædia," to which he has contributed a large number of articles on theological and other subjects, among which are the articles on Church History, The Language and Literature of Denmark, Daniel Defoe, the Gnostics, Origen, Tertullian, &c.
When he had been engaged in his work at St. Fergus for about three years, the Commissioners who had been for some time on the outlook for a suitable man for Knox Church heard of Mr Davidson, and both from personal intercourse and from reliable information communicated by those well-qualified to judge they arrived at the unanimous conclusion that he possessed in an eminent degree the qualifications stipulated for by the office-bearers and members of Knox Church. They accordingly placed the call in Mr Davidson's hands, and, after careful and mature deliberation, he intimated his acceptance. Steps were taken forthwith to obtain his release from his charge at St. Fergus, which was granted in due course.
The following is a summary of speeches made when the application for Mr Davidson's release from his charge was laid before the Free Presbytery of Deer:—
Mr D. M. Watson, of Bullion Field, one of the Commissioners, after giving an account of the position and circumstances of Knox Church congregation and the work carried on by it, said the Commissioners had made most careful inquiry as to the most suitable person for the office of junior pastor of that church, and from among all types of men that had been brought under their notice they had arrived at the conclusion that not only as a preacher, but as a man whose frankness and accessibility were leading traits of his character, Mr Davidson was the man peculiarly fitted for the colonies, not to speak of his higher qualities—his spiritual depth of feeling, and his realisation of the greatness of his work. They also believed that in Mr Davidson there was that tact and wisdom that would fit him to work with Dr Stuart, who had been long in New Zealand, and than whom no other clergyman in a British colony had more weight and influence.
Mr Alexander F. Roberts, another of the Commissioners, said they had been allowed to select from among the Established, Free, and U.P. Church ministers, and they had got, he believed, the very best man among them. He had to tender the Commissioners' acknowledgments to the leading men in all the Presbyterian denominations for the help they had received from them in the matter. Very much of the success attending their efforts was because of the readiness with which each one, whether Established, Free, or United Presbyterian had supplied them with the information they asked. He believed Mr Davidson would never regret his choice.
Mr William Buchan, representative elder from St. Fergus congregation, said the delegates from St. Fergus were sorry to have to come to the Presbytery on such an errand. At the same time the Commissioners had done themselves credit in getting such a man as Mr Davidson, because it was not every day that a minister got such a colleague, nor a congregation such a pastor.
Mr Davidson said he could not but accept the cordial and unanimous invitation he had received. He asked the St. Fergus congregation not to be disheartened, as already he had a bundle of letters from candidates for the charge. He already knew what it was to work under an older and better man than himself, and he trusted he should be able to work cordially along with Dr Stuart.
The Rev. Mr Urquhart, of Old Deer, said it was not a light thing to part with such a brother, and certainly for the congregation to lose such a minister was a serious thing indeed. It was very gratifying that Mr Roberts, a member of the Established Church, had taken part in this matter. He earnestly trusted it was an omen of a happier day soon to dawn in Scotland. Across the oceans the Presbyterian brethren found little difficulty in coalescing and taking united action as a Church. During their recent visit to Australia, Dr Rainy and Dr Macgregor had actually been recognised as colleagues. He thought this appointment very suitably followed. They might cherish the hope that all the three great Presbyterian bodies in Scotland would find themselves once more one.
The Presbytery accordingly resolved unanimously to release Mr Davidson from his charge at St. Fergus, with a view to his induction as junior pastor of Knox Church, Dunedin.
Shortly before his departure for New Zealand Mr Davidson was united in marriage to Miss Mary G. Duke, eldest daughter of Robert Duke, Esq., of Bearehill, a well-known and much respected citizen of Brechin. The local newspaper concludes its account of the marriage ceremony as follows:—"Mr and Mrs Davidson carry with them to Dunedin the hearty good wishes of a large circle of friends. With Mrs Davidson goes the warm sympathy of many of the poor in Brechin, who have partaken of her unostentatious charity. Mr Davidson was a universal favourite while officiating as assistant minister in Brechin, and he will carry with him to his new sphere of labour the best wishes of many of our citizens of all denominations."
- ↑ It will scarcely be credited that, fully seven years before receiving the call from the Home Commissioners, Mr Davidson had been fixed upon by three former lady residents of Dunedin as a most suitable minister for Knox Church, as Dr Stuart's assistant. Such was truly the case, as is shown in the following narrative:—
My wife, daughter, and I, in our passage to England in 1882, had as fellow-passengers between Melbourne and Naples our old Dunedin friends Mrs and Miss Henry and their young charge Miss Sperrey (now Mrs Mair). We left them at Naples, where they resided for several months. An interesting correspondence was maintained between Miss Sperrey and my daughter, and in some of her letters the former mentioned the great kindness and assistance received by her guardians and herself from Mr Davidson, a young Scotch Presbyterian minister who was then in charge of the Presbyterian Church and Schools at Naples. She represented him as being a man of a genial and obliging disposition, and as being an excellent preacher, and quite a favourite with the British and other foreign residents who came in contact with him. Miss Sperrey strongly advised that I should seek him out on his return to Scotland, as her guardians and she had very decidedly formed the opinion that Mr Davidson was the very man for Knox Church, and would make a most suitable assistant to Dr Stuart. I failed to meet Mr Davidson in Scotland, and his name escaped my memory until I was reminded of it by Miss Henry, who happened to be in Dunedin at the time of that gentleman's arrival. She was, I believe, the first to grasp his hand and cordially welcome him as he left the train at Dunedin railway station.—J.H.