John Cockburn (theologian)

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John Cockburn (20 April 1652 – 20 November 1729) was a Scottish theologian and clergyman who lived through a time of great religious change. He came from a notable northern Scottish family; his uncle was the bishop of Aberdeen.

He began his studies at Edinburgh University in 1666 and moved in 1668 to King’s College, Aberdeen, where he completed his MA in 1671. From 1673 to 1675 he was tutor to Lord Keith, son of the Earl Marischal. His uncle, the bishop, ordained him in 1676 and presented him to the living of Udny in Aberdeenshire. In 1681 he moved to Old Deer, after which he faced the Test Act of 1681, which required church and civil officials to swear an oath to the faith and government; he initially refused, but complied in 1682, becoming one of the last Aberdeen clergy to take the oath.

In 1683 he was translated to the living of Onniston, Haddingtonshire. There he worked hard but met opposition from Presbyterians, who resisted his leadership. He tried to start a monthly literary magazine in 1688, but it was halted after the first issue due to controversy with the Catholic side then tolerated by the crown.

After the Glorious Revolution, Cockburn did not immediately pledge loyalty to William of Orange. In 1689 he was cited for not reading the proclamation, deprived of his living, and spent time in prison. He left Scotland, traveling to London, then to France at St. Germain, where he refused to change his religion and was sent away as a danger. He went on to Rotterdam, and then to Amsterdam, where he was appointed English episcopal chaplain by the Bishop of London in 1698. In 1708 he obtained permission to conduct marriages in English form, and in 1709 he likely returned to Britain, possibly holding livings in Somersetshire.

Queen Anne had plans for him to become one of the bishops for the American colonies, and in 1714 he was presented to the vicarage of Northolt, Middlesex. As a parish clergyman he was diligent, keeping a detailed parish register from 1715 and arranging education for his parish children. He died on 20 November 1729 and was buried in Northolt.

Cockburn married twice. In 1677 he married a daughter of Alexander Gairden (Garden) of Forgue; they had nine children, including Patrick, and a daughter Marie was baptized at Old Deer in 1681. During his time abroad he married a daughter of Sir J. Littlepage of Buckinghamshire, and they also had nine children, including a daughter Esther who died in 1728.