Neil Campbell (minister)
Encyclopedia
Neil Campbell was a Scottish Minister, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
at the start of the Original Secession
and Principal of Glasgow University during a flourishing period of the Scottish Enlightenment
.
of the Argyle Interest
, which was to triumph in the so-called Glorious Revolution
.
Some genealogy websites, and others who may have access to private family papers, suggest he was the, possibly illegitimate, son of a John Campbell (and possibly a cadet of the Argyle family). His mother may have been Jean McIver Campbell. Since she married Patrick Campbell, Minister of Glenaray, (in the heart of Campbell territory), she was more likely to have been Neil's grandmother or his aunt. Apparently, Neil was brought up and educated by the Reverend Campbell at Glenaray, beforematriculating at Glasgow University on 1 January 1697 to study Divinity
. There is no record of him graduating, a not uncommond occurrence.
in Lochaber
on 9 September 1702. (This was the largest Parish, in geographical extent, and its rugged terrain was considered missionary
territory, as the bulk of the population were Roman Catholic or Episcopalian
).
Seven years later, he transferred to Rosneath
, on the Firth of Clyde
just opposite the traditional Campbell heartlands. He received the call on 13 June 1709 and admitted on 15 July. He served there for another seven years.
Meanwhile, the Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 had come into force, which meant the Crown, and other Patrons, could present Ministers to vacancies in their churches. Neil Campbell was presented to the Kirk
at Renfrew
by George I
- really Argyle - on 15 November 1715. He was called on 26 April, and subsequently translated and admitted on 18 July 1716. He served there until 1728, when through the influence of his Patrons, the Crown appointed him Principal of Glasgow University.
, Hamilton
and Argyle networks. Neil Campbell was appointed in 1727 at the instigation of the Lord Justice General, Lord Islay
and his brother, the Duke of Argyle
, largely as a safe pair of hands in a religiously and politically disputed terrain.
The teaching at Glasgow had been reformed by his predecessor, Principal Stirling, and a number of important appointments were made during Campbell's tenure, notably Adam Smith
and William Cullen
- who turned the Glasgow medical school into a rival to Edinburgh's, which was made possible by major increases in finance, again from Government and other sources of patronage. Another appointment was the scientist and educator John Anderson
, whose Anderson's Institution developed into Strathclyde University. Campbell might not be able to take credit for the appointments or for the finance, as he was regarded as a somewhat weak leader, but Glasgow was even more flourishing at the end of his regime than it was at the beginning. Smith recalled his time there as by far the most useful and therefore as by far the happiest and most honourable period of my life.
Campbell helped negotiate a return to Glasgow of copies of important archives of the pre-Reformation
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow
, from the Scots College
in Paris
.
A lot of Campbell's time was taken up in contending with religious divisions among the staff (reflected in student concerns) and in the Glasgow Presbytery. He unsuccessfully tried to defend his colleague, the Professor of Divinity John Simson
, from charges of heresy
brought by the Presbytery, and ended up having to take over all his classes, without any increase in pay (though some compensation was given much later). Campbell?s own religious philosophy seems to have been hyper-Calvinist
, which might explain his quarrels with the philosopher Francis Hutcheson
and his opposition to David Hume
getting a professorship at Glasgow.
He was in post during challenging times, including the occupation of Glasgow by the Young Pretender. He loyally supported the Government. It is no surprise that he seems to have had a stroke in 1753. He did not resign his post, but lived on, disabled, until his death in 1761.
The University seems not to have awarded the Very Reverend Mr Campbell a Doctorate in Divinity, despite the fact that the Principal was also, ex officio, First Professor of Theology.
for 1732. The King?s Commissioner
brought a message of respect and admiration, along with encouragement to wise, sober debate, from King
. In return the Assembly voted a loyal address in return, expressing gratitude, loyalty etc. It expressed particular gratitude for the King's gift of £1000, and it made the customary arrangements for using it to fight Roman Catholicism in the Highlands and Islands. The Assembly also voted to urge all congregations to contribute to the Scottish Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SSPCK), which had similar missionary aims in the Highlands. Both also contributed to the spread of the English language there, along with loyalty to the House of Hanover
.
A less routine, and more eventful, decision was taken to regulate the procedures for filling vacant Ministers? posts in Parishes, where the Patron
had failed to do so. The Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 was a long standing grievance to the Church of Scotland
, and it annually protested against it. The decision that year was meant to bring some order into the few, but fraught, occasions when the Patron, through death, or illness, or oversight, had not presented a candidate to a vacancy within the six-months required. In these cases the right fell to the Presbytery in which the Parish lay, and each proceeded in its own way, some involving the whole congregation of the Parish concerned, most limiting it to a small group of Heritor
s and Elders. The Assembly enacted that this latter process should be the norm. Some of the Ministers attending objected, claiming that the majority of Presbyteries consulted preferred the involvement of the whole congregation of a Parish. They were further incensed when their objections were not recorded in the final minutes of the debate. (An Act of the 1730 Assembly has abolished the process of recording objections to decisions of all the Courts of the Church.). This decision was later repealed, but the leading protester, Ebenezer Erskine
, though an Englishman, went on, three years later, to lead his supporters out of the Church of Scotland to form the Original Secession Church
, the first of many splits in Scottish Presbyterianism.
, and the suppressing of profaneness and immorality, and earnestly urged them to avoid all disputes and contentions among yourselves, and to proceed upon the business proper for your consideration, with that unanimity and brotherly love, as may justly be expected from so venerable a body. The ??Secession?? mentioned above was meanwhile gathering pace.
The Assembly responded loyally, though it did express a hope that the King would relieve them of the Patronage grievance they had been protesting about annually. They promised to put the King's Bounty to good use in the more remote and less civilised parts of (his) British dominions ... to counteract the Popish emissaries trafficking in these parts.
Some Presbyteries had complained that a decision of the previous year meant the Assembly was approving some heretical opinions. It passed a special Act declaring this was not so. Some other Presbyteries had complained that some Elders attending the Assembly were not properly qualified (either not residing in their Parishes, or harbouring dubious opinions). A special Act was passed urging Presbyteries only to send properly qualified representatives in future. There seemed to have been an over-supply of divinity students, so the Assembly enacted that there was no longer any need for Presbyteries and Synods to provide Bursaries for new students.
and another of which was sold off and became the famous HMAV Bounty, formerly known as The Bethia.. His daughter Mary " Mally " married William Richard Betham in 1817 and they were parents to Elizabeth " Betsy " who married Capt William Bligh, famous for the Mutiny on the Bounty. Neil Campbell seems to have inherited an estate - and minor title - near Inverary, called variously Clenary/Clenarie/Clonary/Clunary/Claonairigh. In 1744, he was appointed a Chaplain to the King, with joint share in the emoluments of the Dean, etc. of the Chapel Royal in Scotland.
Campbell had a stroke in 1753. Though incapable, he remained in post, in a crumbling Principal?s House, until his death on 25 June 1761. He was buried in Blackfriar?s Kirkyard, Glasgow (which was cleared in the 19th Century along with the Old College Buildings).
Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....
at the start of the Original Secession
First Secession
The First Secession was an exodus of ministers and members from the Church of Scotland in 1733. Those who took part formed the Associate Presbytery and later the United Secession Church....
and Principal of Glasgow University during a flourishing period of the Scottish Enlightenment
Scottish Enlightenment
The Scottish Enlightenment was the period in 18th century Scotland characterised by an outpouring of intellectual and scientific accomplishments. By 1750, Scots were among the most literate citizens of Europe, with an estimated 75% level of literacy...
.
Life
Neil Campbell's origins are obscure, though it is clear he was well connected to the Patronage networksPatronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
of the Argyle Interest
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...
, which was to triumph in the so-called Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
.
Some genealogy websites, and others who may have access to private family papers, suggest he was the, possibly illegitimate, son of a John Campbell (and possibly a cadet of the Argyle family). His mother may have been Jean McIver Campbell. Since she married Patrick Campbell, Minister of Glenaray, (in the heart of Campbell territory), she was more likely to have been Neil's grandmother or his aunt. Apparently, Neil was brought up and educated by the Reverend Campbell at Glenaray, beforematriculating at Glasgow University on 1 January 1697 to study Divinity
Divinity
Divinity and divine are broadly applied but loosely defined terms, used variously within different faiths and belief systems — and even by different individuals within a given faith — to refer to some transcendent or transcendental power or deity, or its attributes or manifestations in...
. There is no record of him graduating, a not uncommond occurrence.
Minister
He was ordained Minister of KilmallieKilmallie
Kilmallie is the name of a civil parish in and around the settlement of Caol, Fort William, Scotland. It gives its name to the local shinty club, Kilmallie Shinty Club....
in Lochaber
Lochaber
District of Lochaber 1975 to 1996Highland council area shown as one of the council areas of ScotlandLochaber is one of the 16 ward management areas of the Highland Council of Scotland and one of eight former local government districts of the two-tier Highland region...
on 9 September 1702. (This was the largest Parish, in geographical extent, and its rugged terrain was considered missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
territory, as the bulk of the population were Roman Catholic or Episcopalian
Scottish Episcopal Church
The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....
).
Seven years later, he transferred to Rosneath
Rosneath
Rosneath is a village in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It sits on the western shore of the Gare Loch near to the tip of the Rosneath peninsula which projects south to the Firth of Clyde between the Gare Loch and Loch Long to the west, and about 2 miles from the village of Kilcreggan which is sited...
, on the Firth of Clyde
Firth of Clyde
The Firth of Clyde forms a large area of coastal water, sheltered from the Atlantic Ocean by the Kintyre peninsula which encloses the outer firth in Argyll and Ayrshire, Scotland. The Kilbrannan Sound is a large arm of the Firth of Clyde, separating the Kintyre Peninsula from the Isle of Arran.At...
just opposite the traditional Campbell heartlands. He received the call on 13 June 1709 and admitted on 15 July. He served there for another seven years.
Meanwhile, the Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 had come into force, which meant the Crown, and other Patrons, could present Ministers to vacancies in their churches. Neil Campbell was presented to the Kirk
Kirk
Kirk can mean "church" in general or the Church of Scotland in particular. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it.-Basic meaning and etymology:...
at Renfrew
Renfrew
-Local government:The town of Renfrew gave its name to a number of local government areas used at various times:*Renfrew a town to the west of Glasgow*Renfrewshire, the present unitary local council area in which Renfrew is situatated....
by George I
George I of Great Britain
George I was King of Great Britain and Ireland from 1 August 1714 until his death, and ruler of the Duchy and Electorate of Brunswick-Lüneburg in the Holy Roman Empire from 1698....
- really Argyle - on 15 November 1715. He was called on 26 April, and subsequently translated and admitted on 18 July 1716. He served there until 1728, when through the influence of his Patrons, the Crown appointed him Principal of Glasgow University.
Principal
The Principal of Glasgow University was a key appointment in the Patronage networks available to the Crown. He was an important player in the Presbytery of Glasgow which was in turn a major influence on the Town Council, and in Parliamentary elections. There were shifting (and interlocking) allegiances to MontroseDuke of Montrose
The title of Duke of Montrose was created twice in the peerage of Scotland, firstly in 1488 for David Lindsay, 5th Earl of Crawford. It was forfeited and then returned, but only for the period of the holder's lifetime...
, Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton
Duke of Hamilton is a title in the Peerage of Scotland, created in 1643. It is the senior dukedom in that Peerage , and as such its holder is the Premier Peer of Scotland, as well as being head of both the House of Hamilton and the House of Douglas...
and Argyle networks. Neil Campbell was appointed in 1727 at the instigation of the Lord Justice General, Lord Islay
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll
Archibald Campbell, 3rd Duke of Argyll, 1st Earl of Ilay was a Scottish nobleman, politician, lawyer, businessman and soldier...
and his brother, the Duke of Argyle
John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll
Field Marshal John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, 1st Duke of Greenwich KG , known as Iain Ruaidh nan Cath or Red John of the Battles, was a Scottish soldier and nobleman.-Early Life:...
, largely as a safe pair of hands in a religiously and politically disputed terrain.
The teaching at Glasgow had been reformed by his predecessor, Principal Stirling, and a number of important appointments were made during Campbell's tenure, notably Adam Smith
Adam Smith
Adam Smith was a Scottish social philosopher and a pioneer of political economy. One of the key figures of the Scottish Enlightenment, Smith is the author of The Theory of Moral Sentiments and An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations...
and William Cullen
William Cullen
William Cullen FRS FRSE FRCPE FPSG was a Scottish physician, chemist and agriculturalist, and one of the most important professors at the Edinburgh Medical School, during its heyday as the leading center of medical education in the English-speaking world.Cullen was also a central figure in the...
- who turned the Glasgow medical school into a rival to Edinburgh's, which was made possible by major increases in finance, again from Government and other sources of patronage. Another appointment was the scientist and educator John Anderson
John H. D. Anderson
John Anderson was a Scottish natural philosopherand liberal educator at the forefront of the application of science to technology in the industrial revolution, and of the education and advancement of working men and women....
, whose Anderson's Institution developed into Strathclyde University. Campbell might not be able to take credit for the appointments or for the finance, as he was regarded as a somewhat weak leader, but Glasgow was even more flourishing at the end of his regime than it was at the beginning. Smith recalled his time there as by far the most useful and therefore as by far the happiest and most honourable period of my life.
Campbell helped negotiate a return to Glasgow of copies of important archives of the pre-Reformation
Reformation
- Movements :* Protestant Reformation, an attempt by Martin Luther to reform the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in a schism, and grew into a wider movement...
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Glasgow
The Archdiocese of Glasgow is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Glasgow first became an archbishopric in 1492, eventually securing the dioceses of Galloway, Argyll and the Isles as suffragans....
, from the Scots College
Scots College (Paris)
The Scots College was a college of the University of Paris, France, founded by an Act of the Parlement of Paris on 8 July 1333. The act was a ratification of an event that had already taken place, the founding of the Collegium Scoticum, one of a number of national colleges into which the...
in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
A lot of Campbell's time was taken up in contending with religious divisions among the staff (reflected in student concerns) and in the Glasgow Presbytery. He unsuccessfully tried to defend his colleague, the Professor of Divinity John Simson
John Simson
John Simson was a Scottish New Licht theologian, involved in a long investigation of alleged heresy. He was suspended from teaching as Professor of Divinity, Glasgow, for the rest of his life.-Life:...
, from charges of heresy
Heresy
Heresy is a controversial or novel change to a system of beliefs, especially a religion, that conflicts with established dogma. It is distinct from apostasy, which is the formal denunciation of one's religion, principles or cause, and blasphemy, which is irreverence toward religion...
brought by the Presbytery, and ended up having to take over all his classes, without any increase in pay (though some compensation was given much later). Campbell?s own religious philosophy seems to have been hyper-Calvinist
Calvinism
Calvinism is a Protestant theological system and an approach to the Christian life...
, which might explain his quarrels with the philosopher Francis Hutcheson
Francis Hutcheson (philosopher)
Francis Hutcheson was a philosopher born in Ireland to a family of Scottish Presbyterians who became one of the founding fathers of the Scottish Enlightenment....
and his opposition to David Hume
David Hume
David Hume was a Scottish philosopher, historian, economist, and essayist, known especially for his philosophical empiricism and skepticism. He was one of the most important figures in the history of Western philosophy and the Scottish Enlightenment...
getting a professorship at Glasgow.
He was in post during challenging times, including the occupation of Glasgow by the Young Pretender. He loyally supported the Government. It is no surprise that he seems to have had a stroke in 1753. He did not resign his post, but lived on, disabled, until his death in 1761.
The University seems not to have awarded the Very Reverend Mr Campbell a Doctorate in Divinity, despite the fact that the Principal was also, ex officio, First Professor of Theology.
1732 General Assembly, the beginnings of Secession
Principal Campbell was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of ScotlandModerator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The Moderator of the General Assembly of Church of Scotland is a Minister, Elder or Deacon of the Church of Scotland chosen to "moderate" the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every May....
for 1732. The King?s Commissioner
William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian
William Kerr, 3rd Marquess of Lothian KT was a Scottish nobleman, styled Master of Jedburgh from 1692 to 1703 and Lord Jedburgh from 1703 to 1722...
brought a message of respect and admiration, along with encouragement to wise, sober debate, from King
George II of Great Britain
George II was King of Great Britain and Ireland, Duke of Brunswick-Lüneburg and Archtreasurer and Prince-elector of the Holy Roman Empire from 11 June 1727 until his death.George was the last British monarch born outside Great Britain. He was born and brought up in Northern Germany...
. In return the Assembly voted a loyal address in return, expressing gratitude, loyalty etc. It expressed particular gratitude for the King's gift of £1000, and it made the customary arrangements for using it to fight Roman Catholicism in the Highlands and Islands. The Assembly also voted to urge all congregations to contribute to the Scottish Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SSPCK), which had similar missionary aims in the Highlands. Both also contributed to the spread of the English language there, along with loyalty to the House of Hanover
House of Hanover
The House of Hanover is a deposed German royal dynasty which has ruled the Duchy of Brunswick-Lüneburg , the Kingdom of Hanover, the Kingdom of Great Britain, the Kingdom of Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland...
.
A less routine, and more eventful, decision was taken to regulate the procedures for filling vacant Ministers? posts in Parishes, where the Patron
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
had failed to do so. The Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711 was a long standing grievance to the Church of Scotland
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
, and it annually protested against it. The decision that year was meant to bring some order into the few, but fraught, occasions when the Patron, through death, or illness, or oversight, had not presented a candidate to a vacancy within the six-months required. In these cases the right fell to the Presbytery in which the Parish lay, and each proceeded in its own way, some involving the whole congregation of the Parish concerned, most limiting it to a small group of Heritor
Heritor
Heritor, was a privileged person in a Parish in Scots Law. In its original acceptation, it signified the proprietor of an heritable subject, but, in the law relating to Parish government, the term was confined to such proprietors of lands or houses as were liable, as written in their title deeds,...
s and Elders. The Assembly enacted that this latter process should be the norm. Some of the Ministers attending objected, claiming that the majority of Presbyteries consulted preferred the involvement of the whole congregation of a Parish. They were further incensed when their objections were not recorded in the final minutes of the debate. (An Act of the 1730 Assembly has abolished the process of recording objections to decisions of all the Courts of the Church.). This decision was later repealed, but the leading protester, Ebenezer Erskine
Ebenezer Erskine
Ebenezer Erskine was a Scottish minister whose actions led to the establishment of the Secession Church ....
, though an Englishman, went on, three years later, to lead his supporters out of the Church of Scotland to form the Original Secession Church
First Secession
The First Secession was an exodus of ministers and members from the Church of Scotland in 1733. Those who took part formed the Associate Presbytery and later the United Secession Church....
, the first of many splits in Scottish Presbyterianism.
1737 General Assembly
Principal Campbell must have nonetheless been held in high esteem, for he was again elected Moderator for the 1737 Assembly, a less momentous one. The same courtesies were exchanged with the King - who this time urged them to work together for the increase of piety and virtue, the preventing of the growth of PoperyPapist
Papist is a term or an anti-Catholic slur, referring to the Roman Catholic Church, its teachings, practices, or adherents. The term was coined during the English Reformation to denote a person whose loyalties were to the Pope, rather than to the Church of England...
, and the suppressing of profaneness and immorality, and earnestly urged them to avoid all disputes and contentions among yourselves, and to proceed upon the business proper for your consideration, with that unanimity and brotherly love, as may justly be expected from so venerable a body. The ??Secession?? mentioned above was meanwhile gathering pace.
The Assembly responded loyally, though it did express a hope that the King would relieve them of the Patronage grievance they had been protesting about annually. They promised to put the King's Bounty to good use in the more remote and less civilised parts of (his) British dominions ... to counteract the Popish emissaries trafficking in these parts.
Some Presbyteries had complained that a decision of the previous year meant the Assembly was approving some heretical opinions. It passed a special Act declaring this was not so. Some other Presbyteries had complained that some Elders attending the Assembly were not properly qualified (either not residing in their Parishes, or harbouring dubious opinions). A special Act was passed urging Presbyteries only to send properly qualified representatives in future. There seemed to have been an over-supply of divinity students, so the Assembly enacted that there was no longer any need for Presbyteries and Synods to provide Bursaries for new students.
Family
Neil Campbell published his intention to marry Henrietta Campbell, daughter of Patrick Campbell of Kilduskland, on 17 June 1705, and he subsequently had four daughters and seven sons by her. One of his sons, Rev Colin Campbell, followed his father as Minister at Renfrew. Another, Duncan Campbell, took charge of managing the prison hulks, which transported the first prisoners to Botany BayBotany Bay
Botany Bay is a bay in Sydney, New South Wales, a few kilometres south of the Sydney central business district. The Cooks River and the Georges River are the two major tributaries that flow into the bay...
and another of which was sold off and became the famous HMAV Bounty, formerly known as The Bethia.. His daughter Mary " Mally " married William Richard Betham in 1817 and they were parents to Elizabeth " Betsy " who married Capt William Bligh, famous for the Mutiny on the Bounty. Neil Campbell seems to have inherited an estate - and minor title - near Inverary, called variously Clenary/Clenarie/Clonary/Clunary/Claonairigh. In 1744, he was appointed a Chaplain to the King, with joint share in the emoluments of the Dean, etc. of the Chapel Royal in Scotland.
Campbell had a stroke in 1753. Though incapable, he remained in post, in a crumbling Principal?s House, until his death on 25 June 1761. He was buried in Blackfriar?s Kirkyard, Glasgow (which was cleared in the 19th Century along with the Old College Buildings).
Sources
- Annals of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland ... Church of Scotland, Edinburgh, 1838 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=PcTUAAAAMAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- Principal Acts of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Church Law Society, Edinburgh 1843 (Online at british-history.ac.uk http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=599&page=3&sort=1)
- Innes, CosmoCosmo InnesCosmo Nelson Innes was a Scottish historian and antiquary.Innes was educated at Edinburgh High School, at Aberdeen and Glasgow Universities, and at Balliol College, Oxford. He was admitted to the Faculty of Advocates in 1822, and was appointed Professor of Constitutional Law and History in the...
Registrum episcopatus glasguensis: munimenta Ecclesie metropolitane glasguensis a sede restaurata seculo ineunte XII ad reformatam religionem Maitland Club, Ballantyne & Hughes, Edinburgh, 1843 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=008JAAAAQAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s - Chambers, W & R Chambers' encyclopaedia: a dictionary of universal knowledge London, 1868 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=V2MMAAAAYAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- Campbell, P C Account of the Clan Iver Edinburgh, 1873 http://books.google.co.uk/books?ei=omU4Tem3NMuHhQekuujVCg&ct=result&id=rSYAAAAAQAAJ&dq=neil+campbell%2C+kilmallie&q=became+representative+%28and+apparently+sole+male+survivor
- Scott, Hew Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation New Edition, Vol III Synod of Glasgow http://www.archive.org/stream/fastiecclesiasco03scotuoft/fastiecclesiasco03scotuoft_djvu.txt and Vol IV Synods of Argyle and of Perth and Stirling, http://www.archive.org/details/fastiecclesiu04scotuoft Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1925 []
- Clan Campbell Society Journal of the Clan Campbell Society (United States of America). Vol 17 -19, 1971.[]
- Campbell, R H & Skinner, A S Adam Smith Routledge, London, 1985 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=RvENAAAAQAAJ&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- Skoczylas, Anne Mr. Simson's Knotty Case: divinity, politics, and due process in early eighteenth-century Scotland McGill-Queen?s Press, Canada, 2001 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=GV4kSbeqbnoC&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- Emerson, Roger L Academic Patronage in the Scottish Enlightenment: Glasgow, Edinburgh and St Andrews Universities. Edinburgh University Press, 2007 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=lBgq1_LgvJEC&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- Ross, I A The Life of Adam Smith Oxford University Press 2010 http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=aGf-nCvSw9MC&source=gbs_navlinks_s
- Glasgow University The University of Glasgow Story (updated website http://www.universitystory.gla.ac.uk/biography/?id=WH2008&type=P&o=&start=280&max=20&l=c)
- GASHE (Gateway to the Archives of Scottish Higher Education - updated website) http://www.gashe.ac.uk:443/public_docs/isaar/P0357.html
- thePeerage.com - a genealogical survey of the peerage of Britain as well as the royal families of Europe. (updated website http://www.thepeerage.com/p20057.htm#i200567)