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Introduction: I found the following via the
outstanding internet resource, Wikipedia. There was enough material on the following family
to encourage me to simply establish a link to the data. That would have been easier, but
I am familar enough with the resource and others on line, as well, to know that what is available to
access today, may not be so on the morrow. So for the entertainment of my living relatives
and my descendants, I am providing the articles herewithin. I almost titled these pages, "Royalty,
Mariners, Preachers and Aethists" or "Science, the X-factor" or "Education teaches that it is okay to change your mind" but as
you may have noticed, I simply refer to it as 2broHaldane... aka... once upon a time, there were two
brothers, Haldane...James Alexander and Robert. HALDANE, JAMES ALEXANDER, distinguished for
his Christian labours, was born at Dundee on the 14th July 1768, within a fortnight after
the death of his father, Captain James Haldane of Airthrey, in the county of Stirling, who was cut
off by sudden illness at the early age of thirty-nine. His widow, Katherine Duncan, only
survived her husband about six years, when her two sons, Robert and James Alexander, were left under
the guardianship of her brothers – the elder of whom was Lieutenant-colonel Alexander Duncan of Lundie,
and the younger, Adam Duncan, was the future hero of Camperdown. The pious example and instructions of their mother exercised an important influence on both her
sons. After receiving the first part of their education under private tutors, and at the
grammar school of Dundee, the brothers were sent to the High school and college of Edinburgh, and
boarded with Dr. Adam, the rector, the celebrated author of the 'Roman Antiquities,' and other valuable
works. In his seventeenth year, James A. Haldane entered the service of the East India Company, as a
midshipman, on board the Duke of Montrose. Previous to joining which an offer was made
to his uncles by Mr. Coutts, the eminent banker, to take him into his bank, but which was
declined. For three generations the family had possessed the chief interest in one of
the Company’s chartered ships, the property of which was shared with Mr. Coutts, and with the
family of Dundas of Arniston. At the time Mr. James Haldane entered the service, the command of the Melville Castle was held by
Captain Philip Dundas, the brother of Viscountess Duncan, and the father of Robert A. Dundas, Esq.,
afterwards Mr. Christopher, M.P. for Lincolnshire. An arrangement provided, that as soon
as Mr. J. A. Haldane attained the age which qualified him for the command, Captain Philip Dundas should
retire in his favour. During the eight years which intervened, Mr. Haldane made four voyages to Bengal, Bombay, and
China. In his fourth voyage he was second mate, and in 1793, having passed the necessary
examinations, he obtained the command of the vessel named, the Melville Castle. He was then in his twenty-fourth year, and was considered a skilful navigator, a good seaman, and an
officer distinguished alike for his firmness and suavity of manner. His life at sea was distinguished by many of those narrow escapes from dangers to which a sailor
is often exposed. During his first voyage, when going aloft as a midshipman to reef
the sails, the man next to him, and whom the captain had ordered to go first, was knocked from
the year, and drowned in the sea. At another time, Mr. Haldane fell out of a boat
at night, and was only saved by keeping fast hold of the oar with which he had been
steering. On another occasion he narrowly escaped being murdered by Malays on an
island, where, led by curiosity, he had penetrated alone into the woods. He came to the
fire where the savages had been carousing, but escaped without injury, whilst one of the boat’s crew
was killed, and another badly wounded. At a later period he had received a very eligible appointment from Sir Robert Preston, as third
officer of the Foulis Indiaman. But he was detained in Scotland too long, and on his
arrival in London, found that the ship had sailed the day before, and that his place had been
filled up. This was a great disappointment, but it turned out for him a providential
circumstance, as the Foulis was never again heard of. During the months he remained in command of the Melville Castle, a desperate mutiny on
board the Dutton (one of the East India fleet, lying near Spithead) gave occasion for the
display of that daring courage and presence of mind for which he was at all times
conspicuous. The mutiny broke out in the night, and the crew threatened to carry off the
ship to a French port. Shots were fired, and blood was shed. The captain of the Dutton, expecting to be overpowered, left the ship to seek
for assistance from the admiral at Portsmouth. It was in the midst of this scene of
confusion, in a dark night, that Captain Haldane ordered out his own boat, and went alongside the
Dutton. The mutineers threatened to sink him if he did not sheer off, and to murder hm if he dared to
board. Regardless of the menaced violence, he effected his purpose by a skilful manoeuvre,
and threw himself into the midst of the angry mutineers; when, partly by that calm and resolute
determination, before which the guilty are ever disposed to quail, and partly by kindly and
persuasive appeals to their reason and good sense – to which they listened the more readily, because
he was himself always popular as an officer – he quelled the mutiny without further bloodshed. He was both publicly and privately complimented for the combination of gallantry and judgment
shown in this timely service, by which he had averted serious mischief. This, however,
was only one of the many instances of his characteristic zeal, enterprise, and resolution. One
of the captains under whom he sailed, was wont to say, that if in the night it blew hard, he never
slept in comfort unless James Haldane was on deck. On one occasion he was enabled, by his skilful seamanship and prompt resolution, to avert the
loss of the ship in the Mozambique Channel, nearly under the same circumstances, and in the same
seas, where the Winterton was wrecked in 1792, when commanded by the late Captain Dundas
of Dundas. It was during the detention of the East India fleet at the beginning of 1794, that the change
took place which altered the whole current of his future life. It was not sudden, but
gradual – not the result of enthusiastic excitement, but of calm reflection, as will be seen
by the following extract from a letter to one of his old messmates: – “I had a book by me, which,
frm prejudice of education, and not frm any rational conviction, I called the Word of god. I
never went so far as to profess infidelity, but I was a more inconsistent character – I said that I
believed a book to be a revelation from God, whilst I treated it with the greatest neglect, living in
direct opposition to all its precepts, and seldom taking the trouble to look into it, or if I did, it
was to perform a task – a kind of atonement for my sins. I went on in this course till,
whilst the Melville Castle was detained at the Motherbank by contrary winds, and having
abundance of leisure for reflection, I began to think that I would pay a little more attention to
this book. The more I read it, the more worthy it appeared of God; and after examining the
evidences with which Christianity is supported, I became fully persuaded of its truth.” Instead of being, as heretofore, careless about religion, he now came to see that it was the
most important interest of man; and an unexpected opportunity having occurred, which enabled him
to transfer his command, he sold out of the service, and relinquishing the prospect of the great
fortunes made by his contemporaries – several of whom became East India Directors, and members of
parliament – he retired into private life. His biographer says that his brother had previously laboured earnestly, although without success, to
induce him to settle at home, and in the neighbourhood of Airthrey. When, therefore, he
heard that an opportunity had occurred of disposing of the command for the sum of £9,000, being at the
rate of £3,000 a voyage, exclusive of the captain’s share in the property of the ship and stores, which
amounted in all to £6,000 additional, Mr. Haldane wrote strongly recommending that this offer should be
accepted. His letter decided the matter, and Captain Haldane returned with his wife to
Scotland early in the summer of 1794. Nothing, however, was further from Mr. Haldane’s purpose at this time than to become a
preacher. It was his intention to purchase an estate, and lead the quiet life of a country
gentleman. But, during his residence in Edinburgh, he became acquainted with Mr. David Black,
minister of Lady Yester’s, and with Dr. Walter Buchanan, previously minister of Stirling, but then of
the Canongate church, through whom he was introduced to several pious men actively engaged in schemes
of usefulness. His enterprising mind gradually became interested in their plans for
instructing the poor and neglected population in Edinburgh and the surrounding villages; and he was
further stimulated to engage in preaching by the visit of the celebrated Charles Simeon, of
King’s college, Cambridge, whom, in 1796, he accompanied in a tour from Airthrey through a considerable
part of the Highlands. Mr. Simeon, in his journal, relates that, a short time before their tour ended, they ascended together
to the top of Benlomond, and there, impressed by the grandeur of the surrounding scenery, kneeled down
and solemnly consecrated their future lives to the service of Almighty God. His brother, Mr. Robert Haldane, had in early life a decided inclination towards the ministry of the
Church of Scotland; but his guardians had dissuaded him from following it out. In 1780 he
entered the navy, joining the Monarch ship of war under his uncle, Admiral Duncan, from which
ship he was shortly transferred to the Foundroyant, in which he evinced signal proofs of naval
skill and intrepidity in the action with the Pegasé, under Admiral Jervis, afterwards Earl
St. Vincent, and also when the vessel formed part of the fleet of Earl Howe in his successful expedition
to Gibraltar. On the peace of 1783 he retired from the navy, and after residing for some time at Gosport, enjoying
the intercourse of his friend Dr. Bogue, an eminent clergyman of the Independent persuasion, he became
a student in the university of Edinburgh before the close of the ensuing year. For two
sessions he divided his time between studying at college and travelling on the Continent; and having
married in 1785, he settled at Aitrhrey in the autumn of that year. Shortly after his brother James Haldane’s devotion of himself to the service of God, being determined
to dedicate his life, talents, and property to the diffusion of the gospel in India, Robert sold his
beautiful and romantic estate of Airthrey to the late General Sir Robert Abercromby; and applied
to Government and the East India company for permission to go to Bengal with three Presbyterian
clergymen – the Rev. Dr. Bogue of Gosport, the Rev. Dr. Innes, then minister of Stirling and chaplain
to the castle, and the Rev. Greville Ewing, assistant to Dr. Jones of Lady Glenorchy’s church,
Edinburgh. Mr. Haldane was to have defrayed all the expenses of this mission, which included several catechists,
or Scripture readers; and he also became bound to pay to each of his three principal associates £3,500,
in order to secure their worldly independence. This benevolent design was frustrated by the
refusal of the East India Company to sanction it; and both Mr. Robert Haldane and his brother James
thereupon resolved to devote themselves to propagating the gospel at home. Mr. James Haldane preached his first sermon on the 6th May 1797, at the school-house of
Gilmerton, near Edinburgh, then a very neglected spot, and inhabited chiefly by
colliers. Several laymen, invited by a pious tradesman in the village, had previously
preached there – especially the excellent Mr. Aikman, a gentleman of independent fortune, whose time
and means, like those of Mr. Haldane, were given to the advancement of the gospel. The
well-known Dr. Stuart of Dunearn was present at Mr. Haldane’s first sermon, and was so struck with it,
that he pronounced him to be indeed a “Boanerges.” Subsequently Mr. Haldane attracted great attention, preaching on Sunday evening with great earnestness
in the open air to thousands on the Calton Hill, in Bruntsfield Links, or in the King’s Park, Edinburgh. In the summer of 1797, he made a very extensive tour, in company with his friends Mr. Aikman and
Mr. Rate, through the northern counties of Scotland and the Orkney Isles. This tour, partly
from the novelty of lay preaching, and partly from the previous lethargy of the times, produced a great
sensation. The common people thronged in crowds to hear, and whilst much good was effected,
not a little opposition was awakened in some quarters. At Aberdeen the town drummer was fined a guinea for intimating a sermon by Mr. Haldane in the College
Close, but the preacher sent him the money, that he might be no loser. On a subsequent
occasion he preached in the streets of Aberdeen on a Sabbath evening, and next morning, one of his
hearers was found dead, on his knees, in the attitude of prayer. In the following summer
the celebrated Rowland Hill visited Scotland with the view of preaching. In his published journal there is a graphic description of his first interview with Mr. James
Haldane. He had arrived at Langholm, where he met Mr. Haldane, accompanied by Mr. Aikman,
who were on a preaching tour through the south of Scotland. “These gentlemen,” says
Mr. Hill, “were then unknown to me. I was told, but in very candid language, their errand
and design; that it was a marvellous circumstance – quite a phenomenon – that an East India captain – a
gentleman of good family and connection – should turn out an itinerant preacher; that he should travel
from town to town, and all against his own interest and character. This information was
enough for me. I immediately sought out the itinerants. When I inquired for
them of the landlady of the inn, she told me she supposed I meant the two priests who were at
her house; but she could not satisfy me what religion they were of. The two priests,
however, and myself soon met, and, to our mutual satisfaction, passed the evening together.” The same system of peaching tours was carried on for a succession of years, in conjunction with
Mr. Aikman, Mr. Innes, Mr. John Campbell, afterwards well known as a missionary and traveller in
Africa, and others, till the gospel had been thus proclaimed not only in every part of the mainland,
from the north to the south, but also in the Orkney and Shetland islands, where the most striking
effects were produced. The two brothers were among those who, in December 1797, established
in Edinburgh ‘The Society for Propagating the Gospel at Home,’ and they formed two of the
first committee of twelve directors, all of whom were laymen, and nine of them engaged in business. Up to this period neither of the Messrs. Haldane had left the Church of Scotland; but the visits of
Mr. Simeon and Mr. Rowland Hill, and, above all, the excitement produced throughout the country by the
itinerants, induced the General Assembly to issue ‘a Pastoral Admonition,’ warning the people against
strange preachers, and prohibiting Episcopalians or other strangers from occupying the pulpits
of the Scottish church. Hitherto peaching in Edinburgh had been conducted in the Circus in Leith Street, so as not to
interfere with the hours of public worship in the city churches; but after the pastoral admonition,
the brothers Haldane, with Mr. Aikman, several ministers, and many of their lay friends, seceded from
the establishment. Mr. Robert Haldane, at an expense of £30,000, erected or purchased
large places of worship in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Perth, Dunkeld, Dumfries, Elgin, and several
other places in Scotland. Mr. James Haldane undertook to officiate in a newly erected chapel in Leith Walk, called after
Mr. Whitfield’s places of worship, a Tabernacle. But he stipulated that this should not
interfere with his labours as an itinerant preacher ‘in the high-ways and hedges.” His
ordination took place on Sunday, 3d February 1799. In 1798, Mr. Robert Haldane had accompanied Mr. Rowland Hill in a preaching tour through Scotland,
and subsequently into Gloucestershire, and during his journey, besides resolving upon the erection of
these places of worship, he conceived the idea of educating a number of pious young men for the ministry
unconnected with any church. In following out this project he established theological
seminaries in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Elgin, Granton in Strathspey, Gosport, &c., under
Messrs, Ewing, Innes, Aikman, John Campbell, Cowie, Ballantyne, Macintosh, Dr. Bogue, &c., and
expended large sums of money, the students being all maintained at his expense, both married and
unmarried. The number thus trained for the preaching of the gospel amounted to about four hundred, amongst whom
were some who in their after career acquired considerable eminence, such as, Dr. Russell of Dundee,
Principal Dewar of Aberdeen, Mr. John Angell James of Birmingham, Mr. Orme of Camberwell, Mr. Maclay
of New York, and others. He also undertook to defray the expenses of bringing over to
England, and educating in the principles of Christianity, a number of African children from Sierra
Leone, with the view of sending them back to their own land to act as missionaries among their
countrymen, a scheme which originated with Mr. John Campbell. Twenty boys and four girls
were accordingly brought to England by Governor Zachary Macaulay, in June 1799, but as that gentleman
objected to their education being under the sole management of Mr. Haldane, – who had taken the lease
of a house and prepared it for their reception in the King’s Park, Edinburgh, afterwards used for the
Deaf and Dumb Asylum, and immortalized by Sir Walter Scott in the Heart of Mid Lothian, as that of the
laird of Dumbiedykes – he declined to act under a committee, and the children were educated by funds
provided in London. The establishment of churches on the Congregational plan gave great offence to many of the friends
of the two brothers, and their motives were often questioned, while their objects and character were
exposed to much unmerited obloquy and misrepresentation. The pastoral admonition of the
General Assembly of the Established church, passed in 1799 against vagrant teachers and Sunday schools,
already referred to, was not the only ecclesiastical attempt which was made to crush the itinerating
preachers. In 1796 the General Associate Synod had passed a Resolution against the
constitution of missionary societies, and testified against co-operating with persons in religious
matters not of their communion. The Cameronians at Glasgow, and the Relief Synod also prohibited any of their members or ministers
from countenancing them, or giving them the use of their pulpits. The Antiburgher Synod, in
1799, even went so far as to depose the Rev. George Cowie of Huntly, one of their most eminent ministers,
for attending the sermons of the so called missionary preachers. Of Mr. James A. Haldane,
Mr. Cowie declared that “he carried his credentials as a preacher with him.” Previous to 1800, Mr. J. A. Haldane had preached the gospel, says his biographer, “in every part of
Scotland, and abundantly distributed religious tracts, from the Solway Firth in the south round about
to the Tweed, and thence beyond Caithness and the clustering Orkneys and Shetlands even to the Ultima
Thule of the romans. He had also skirted the fastnesses of the Highlands from Dunkeld to
Sutherland, but had felt the difference of language an obstacle to his progress in those districts.” During the panic in this country produced by the French Revolution, party spirt ran high in Scotland,
and in the excitement of the times the two brothers, but especially Mr. Robert Haldane, were charged
with holding levelling and revolutionary opinions. So persevering and reiterated were these
attacks, that in 1800 the latter found himself compelled, in self-vindication, to publish a narrative
of his proceedings with, a statement of his principles, in a pamphlet, which had an extensive
circulation, entitled, ‘Address to the Public, by Robert Haldane, concerning Political Opinions, and
the plans lately adopted to promote Religion in Scotland.’ This publication was well-timed, and proved very useful in silencing the calumnies which had been
circulated regarding his views and designs, and particularly it was thought to be instrumental in
putting a stop to a proposed measure of Mr. Pitt, then prime minister, for the suppression of
unlicensed preaching and the punishment of lay-preachers. In June 1800 Mr. James Haldane entered upon a new preaching tour, his fourth, accompanied by
Mr. Campbell. This time their journey extended to Arran and Kintyre. At Ayr,
two years before, he had met with strong opposition from the magistrates; at North Berwick he had
also experienced some obstruction, as had been the case at Aberdeen, as already related. At
Kintyre, on this occasion, he and Mr. Campbell were both arrested at a place not far from Campbelton,
for preaching in the open air. The gentleman who made himself most conspicuous in their
arrest was a major in the army, the heir to a baronetcy. They were conducted under the
escort of a sergeant and a party of volunteers, thirty miles to the residence of the sheriff of
Argyle, spending a night on the road in custody at Lochgilphead. After some conversation the sheriff ordered them to be set at liberty, thus admitting the lawfulness
of field-preaching; and, on their return the same route, they preached at all the villages where they
had been previously expected, when the people flocked in crowds to hear them. Their arrest
had excited much interest in the district, and on this occasion Mr. Haldane preached with more than
his usual power. For the work of an itinerating preacher he was peculiarly fitted, especially
where he had to contend with opposition. The habits he had acquired at sea,” says Dr. Lindsay Alexander, in the funeral sermon which
he preached on his death in February 1851, “in battling with the elements and with the untamed energy
of rude and fearless men, stood him in good stead when called to content for liberty of speech and
worship, in opposition to the bigoted and tyrannical measures of those who would fain have swallowed
up alive the authors of the new system. He was not a man to quail before priestly intolerance
or magisterial frowns. Dignified in manner, commanding in speech, fearless in courage,
unhesitating in action, he everywhere met the rising storm with the boldness of a British sailor and
the courtesy of a British gentleman, as well as with the uprightness and the unoffensiveness of a true
Christian. To the brethren who were associated with him, he was a pillar of strength in the hour of trial; while,
upon those who sought to put down their efforts by force or ridicule, it is hard to say whether the
manly dignity of his bearing or the blameless purity of his conduct produced the more powerful effect
in paralysing their opposition, when he did not succeed in winning their applause.” Mr. Robert Haldane also engaged in field-preaching, but not so extensively as his brother, who, in
September 1801, crossed over to Ireland, and preached to crowded congregations in various parts of
Ulster. On the death of his second child, a little girl under six years old, on
5th June 1802, Mr. James Haldane published an interesting little memoir, entitled ‘Early
Instruction recommended, in a Narrative of Catherine Haldane, with an address to Parents on the
Importance of Religion.’ He afterwards again visited Ireland on a preaching excursion, and in 1805 made a second tour into
Breadalbane, extending it this time as far as Caithness, which was the last of his long itinerating
tours. From this period till his death he was never absent long from his congregation in
Edinburgh. About 1808, various discussions which had arisen relative to church order,
apostolic practice, and baptism, led to a rupture in the Tabernacle church, and Mr. James Haldane,
who had adopted Baptist sentiments, was deserted by some who had till then been his
colleagues. In consequence of a dispute with Mr. Greville Ewing, styled “the father of
Congregationalism in Scotland,” relative to the Tabernacle in Glasgow, built by Mr. Robert Haldane
for that gentleman, the latter also, in 1811, left the new connexion, and Mr. Haldane published two
pamphlets explanatory of the transactions between them. [See memoir of the REV. GREVILLE EWING.] Towards the end of 1809 Mr. Robert Haldane had bought the estate of Auchingray, in Lanarkshire, as
a country residence. In the summer of 1816 he entered upon a missionary tour on the
continent, and his name thenceforth became connected with the revival of vital Christianity in France
and Switzerland. In Geneva particularly, by his conversational meetings with the theological students, he was
enabled to lead them to right views of the great doctrines of the gospel, a cold and dry
Socinianism being all that at that period was taught in their divinity course. The Rev. Dr.
Caesar Malan, Dr. Merle D’Aubigne, the author of the History of the Reformation, and other eminent
ministers, were among his converts while at Geneva. In the following year he went to Montauban, on the Tarn, the centre of education for the Protestants
of the Reformed church in France, where he resided for two years, and was also the means of effecting
much good among the ministers and students of theology in that place. A translation of his
‘Evidences of Christianity,’ and his ‘Commentary on the Romans,’ in French, were published at Montauban,
while he was there, the latter in two volumes 8vo, and copies distributed all over France and
Switzerland. For long after, each student of divinity, on leaving college at Montauban,
received a copy of the Commentary out of a stock left for the purpose. From his residence at Geneva and Montauban originated the establishment of the Continental Society,
an active auxiliary of which was, mainly through his influence, founded at Edinburgh in the spring
of 1821. It was formed on the model of his own original association in Scotland for
propagating the gospel at home. At the end of 1824, he was the originator of the Bible
Society controversy, in which Dr. Andrew Thomson of St. George’s church, Edinburgh, took such
a prominent part, and published various pamphlets against the circulation of the Apocrypha with the
Bible by the British and Foreign Bible Society. This controversy lasted nearly twelve years, and led to the purification of the Society and to the
circulation of the pure Word of God without any intermixture. His last labours were bestowed
on a careful revision of his ‘Exposition of the Romans,’ which was published in 1842, with a valuable
treatise on the ‘Testimony of the Word of God, with regard to the state of the Heathen destitute of
the Gospel.’ He died 12th December 1842, in his 79th year, and was buried within one of the
aisles of the old cathedral of Glasgow. No portrait of him exists. He had
married in April 1786, Katherine Cochrane Oswald, second daughter of George Oswald of Scotstown, by
whom he had a daughter, Margaret. His brother, Mr. James Haldane, survived him nine years. His labours and itinerancies had
been the means of awakening thousands to concern for their eternal welfare, of which there were many
testimonies. Dr. Andrew Thomson of St. George’s (of whom a memoir is afterwards given in
its place) remarked, that in examining candidates for admission he found a greater number of instances
of awakenings attributed to the preaching of Mr. James Haldane than to any other preacher in
Edinburgh. For five years he conducted ‘The Scripture Magazine;’ the chief object of which
was to establish the grand truths of the gospel; and, amongst other valuable essays from his pen, and
‘Notes on Scripture,’ it contains a series of articles which he once thought of collecting into a
volume, under the title of the ‘Revelation of Mercy.’ This design he never accomplished, but
he published, in 1818, a valuable little tract, ‘The Revelation of God’s Righteousness,’ embodying an
epitome of his views. Like his brother, he condemned the erroneous doctrines enunciated by the Rev. Edward Irving, and
published a “Refutation” of them. He subsequently published a treatise on the
Atonement. On the completion of the fiftieth year of his pastoral office, on 3d February
1849, a jubilee meeting was held, on 12th April thereafter, which was very gratifying to
him. This eminent servant of the Lord died on 8th February 1851, in his 84th year. From
a portrait of him, by Colvin Smith, prefixed to Memoirs of Robert and James A. Haldane by their nephew,
Alexander Haldane, Esq., Barrister in law, (published in 1852), the following woodcut is taken: He was twice married. His first wife, whom he married immediately after his appointment
as captain of the Melville Castle, was Mary, only daughter of Alexander Joass, Esq. of
Colleinwart, Banffshire, by Elizabeth, eldest sister of the celebrated Sir Ralph Abercromby. By
this lady he had three sons and six daughters. She died 27th February 1819, and
he married a second time, 23d April, 1822, Margaret, daughter of Dr. Daniel Rutherford, professor of
botany in the university of Edinburgh, the maternal uncle of Sir Walter Scott, and by her he had three
sons and three daughters. It may be said of both the brothers Haldane, as has been well remarked by the writer of one of their
obituary notices, that in all their undertakings for the promotion of religion at home, they proceeded
hand in hand. Although each was distinguished by a determined will, and strong adherence to
his own views of duty, there was between them a remarkable harmony of design and oneness of
spirit; and never, during their long and honourable course of mutual co-operation, was there one
jarring feeling to distract their zeal for the common object which they steadily pursued. That
object was the glory of Christ and the salvation of their fellow-men; and from the moment they undertook
to devote their lives to labour in the gospel, there was no looking back to the gay world which they had
left. Wealth, honour, worldly renown and reputation, were all forsaken; nor did the seducing hope of
earning a name and a place in the Christian world ever tempt their ambition. In the matter
of personal sacrifice, the one abandoned a beautiful estate, with its natural accompaniments of worldly
position and influence: the other relinquished an honourable and lucrative post, with the certain
prospect of fortune. Each dedicated intellectual talents of no common order to the same cause: the one by his preaching,
but much more by his writings; the other by his writings, but much more by his preaching, taught
and vindicated the same truths. While the elder brother was expending thousands and tens
of thousands of pounds in the education of missionaries and preachers – in the erection of chapels, and
in the circulation of the Scriptures – the other was, at his own cost, travelling through the destitute
parts of Scotland, and the north of Ireland, preaching the gospel to listening multitudes; and afterwards,
for more than half a century, discharging without emolument, or the shadow of worldly recompense, the
daily duties of a minister. Mr. Robert Haldane’s works are:
Address to the Public, concerning Political Opinions, and Plans
lately adopted to promote Religion in Scotland. Edin. 1800, 8vo.
The Evidences and Authority of Divine Revelation. Edin. 1816,
8vo. French edition, 1817. 3d edition, enlarged, 2 vols. 8vo. 1834.
Two pamphlets in 8vo. Relating to a controversy with the Rev.
Greville Ewing of Glasgow on the subject of the Tabernacle in that
city; one of them published in 1810.
Letter to M. Cheneviere, Professor of Theology at Geneva. In
French and English. Edin. 1824, 12mo.
Commentary on the Romans. In French. Montauban, 1817, Also a
German edition.
Review of the conduct of the British and Foreign Bible society
relative to the Apocrypha, and to their administration on the
Continent; with an Answer to the Rev. C. Simeon, and Observations on
the Cambridge Remarks, 1825.
Second Review of the same. 1826. Occasioned by a Letter (by Dr.
Steinkopff, the former secretary of the Society) addressed to Robert
Haldane, Esq., containing some Remarks on his Strictures relative to
the Continent and to Continental Bible Societies.
Authenticity and Inspiration of the Scriptures. 1827. This work
had a rapid sale, and went through several editions. It was used as a
class book by Dr. Chalmers when professor of theology; also by Dr.
Steadman, the head of the Baptist college at Bradford.
Six pamphlets on the Apocrypha question, on the establishment of
the Edinburgh Corresponding Board. 1827-8. Three others on the same
subject, after the formation of the Trinitarian Bible Society. 1831.
The Conduct of the Rev. Daniel Wilson (afterwards bishop of
Calcutta) on the continent, and as a member of the Society for
promoting Christian Knowledge, and of the British and Foreign Bible
Society, considered and exposed. Edin. 1829.
Exposition of the Epistle to the Romans, with Remarks on the
Commentaries of Dr. Macknight, Professor Moses Stuart, and Professor
Tholuck, 3 vols. First vol. In 1835; 2d in 1837; and 3d in 1839; new
edition 1842. On this work he was engaged, more or less, for nearly
thirty years. A German translation of it was also published.
Letter to the Right Hon. Thomas B. Macaulay, M.P. for Edinburgh.
Edin. 1839.
Various letters in the newspapers in answer to the Rev. Dr. John
Brown, on the subject of payment of the Annuity Tax, and afterwards
published separately in a pamphlet. Edin. 1840.
Subjoined is a list of Mr. James A. Haldane’s works:
Early Instruction recommended, in a narrative of Catherine
Haldane (his daughter, a child about six years old), with an Address
to Parents on the importance of Religion. Edin. 1801. Several
editions. Translated into Danish.
Treatise on the Lord’s Supper. Edin. 1802, 8vo.
View of the Social Worship and Ordinances of the First
Christians. Edin. 1805, 12mo. Several editions.
Treatise on the Duty of Forbearance. Edin. 1811, 8vo. Relating
to the subject of Infant Baptism.
Reply to two pamphlets on the same subject. Edin. 1812.
Doctrine and Duty of Self-Examination; the substance of two
Sermons preached in 1806. Edin. 8vo, new edit. 1823.
`Observations on the Association of Believers.
The voluntary Question Political, not Religious. 1823.
The Revelation of God’s Righteousness. 1818, 3d ed. 1851.
Strictures on a Publication upon Primitive Christianity, by Mr.
John Walker, formerly Fellow of Dublin College. 1819.
Observations on Universal Pardon, the Extent of the Atonement,
and Personal Assurance of Salvation. Edin. 1827, 8vo.
Refutation of the heretical doctrine promulgated by the Rev.
Edward Irving respecting the Person and Atonement of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Edin. 1828.
Answer to Mr. Henry Drummond’s Defence of the heretical doctrine
promulgated by Mr. Irving. Edin, 1830, 12mo.
Man’s Responsibility; the nature and Extent of the Atonement;
and the Work of the Holy spirit; in reply to Mr. Howard Hinton and the
Baptist Midland Association. Edin. 1842, 12mo.
The Doctrine of the Atonement; with Strictures on the recent
publications of Drs. Wardlaw and Jenkyn on the subject. Edin. 1845,
16mo, new edition, 1847.
An Exposition of the Epistle to the Galatians, Edinb. 1848,
16mo.
By Colleen Cahoon, of Texas
[James Alexander Haldane's Family Tree]
[portrait of James Haldane]
Learn about my Great, Great, Great-Grandmother,[ Margaret Haldane ]
Learn about James' Grandson, [ John Scott Haldane ], who invented the gas mask.
Learn about James' Great-Grandson, [ Jack (JBS)Haldane ], who coined the word "clone".
Learn about James' Great-Grand-daughter, [ Naomi Margaret Haldane ], a prolific writer, who proof-read her friend's epic novel, Lord of the Rings.
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