GRECIAN URN
WEST SIDE
DAVID RUSSELL D.D
was formerly forty years the beloved pastor
of the
congregational church
assembly in Ward Chapel Dundee
he died 23rd September 1848
in the 69th year of his age
his sorrowing people have placed this monument
over his grave
"he was an elegant man and mighty in his scriptures" Acts XVIII 24th
He was a good man and full of the Holy Ghost and
of faith and much people was added on to the Lord
Acts XI 24th
If any man serve me let him follow me:
and where I am there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me him will my father honour
John XII:26th
South side
Here interred the following
ANN GLEGG
wife of
DAVID RUSSELL D.D
who died 25th September 1858
aged 80 years
here also are interred the following children
ADAM GLEGG and CHARLES THOMSON
who died in infancy
ANN who died 27th August 1825
aged 16 years
MARGARET who died 17th September 1825
aged 15 years
and JANE GLEGG who died
12th July 1833 aged 18 years
THE REV.
DR
DAVID RUSSELL was born in Glasgow on Oct.10, 1779; and having, at an early age,
been led to serious thought, in 1803 he entered the Theological Academy in
Edinburgh, it that time conducted by Mr Haldane. In Aug. 1805, he was sent to
Aberdeen, where he supplied a preaching station for about five months. He
removed to Montrose in Jan. following, and remained there nine months, at the
end of which time he returned to Aberdeen.
A
short time after this, a recently formed Congregational church in that city
called him to be their pastor ; and he accepted the invitation, his ordination
taking place in March 1807. In Aug. 1809, Mr Russell removed to Dundee, and
became pastor of the church then assembling in the Sailors ' Hall, who had
separated from the body founded by Mr Haldane, on account of some differences
respecting the order of worship. In 1810, the congregation meeting in West Port
Chapel, who had seceded from the Relief body some time previously, united with
the church presided aver by Mr Russell. His talents as a preacher soon attracted
others to hear him, and by degrees his celebrity increased, until a larger
chapel became absolutely necessary. Members of different religious denominations
subscribed liberally towards the erection of such a building, and with their aid
the elegant structure known as Ward Chapel was erected. It was opened for divine
service on Sunday, Nov. 17, 1833. The Rev. Dr Ralph Wardlaw, who preached in it
in Aug. 1835, in a letter which he wrote to his daughter from Dundee, thus
referred to Ward Chapel and its pastor : I preached last night to an excellent
congregation the place, which holds 1200, being nearly full ; and that
notwithstanding the unfortunate coincidence of a public meeting in one of the
Established churches, to which all possible publicity had been given, in support
of the Church of Scotland Missions. Dr Russell's is a very nice new chapel,
built in the gothic style, with a corresponding interior. They were obliged,
from the situation, to have something a little stylish, as a condition, on the
part of the Town Corporation, of their getting the ground. It is beautifully
lighted, too, with gas. I need not say how efficiently it is lighted, in a
higher sense, from the pulpit. Mr Russell, on Aug. 8, 1834, received the
honorary degree of D.D. from the University of Vermont, United State3, as a mark
of his distinction as a writer. His published works consisted of the following :
1. A Compendious View of the Original Dispensation Established
with Adam, and of the Mediatorial Dispensation Established through Christ.
2. Letters, chiefly Practical and Consolatory.
3. On the Old and New Covenants.
4. The Way of Salvation.
5. The Present Position and Urgent Claims of the London
Missionary Society.
6. A Catechism of the First Principles of the Holy Scriptures.
7. Hints to Inquirers.
8. Infant Salvation ; or an Attempt to Prove that all who Die in
Infancy are Saved.
These volumes, and especially the letters, have had a very wide
circulation, particularly in England, where they are well known. Dr Russell
laboured in Dundee for the long period of thirty-nine years. During the whole of
this time, it was his practice to preach three times every Sunday, the
congregation in the evening being of a miscellaneous character, and including
comparatively few of the members of his own church. On only one Sunday, after he
settled in Dundee, did sickness incapacitate him from duty. It was no common
favour to gain admittance into his pulpit, for he delighted in preaching, and
always showed an unwillingness to allow any one to occupy his place. When
debarred from conducting the usual services by a visit from deputations of the
London Missionary Society, or some similar institution, he felt unsatisfied, and
desirous to be in the pulpit again. Dr Russell died on Saturday, Sept, 23, 1848,
in the 80th year of his age.
In Aug. 1850, a handsome monument, subscribed for by the members
of the congregation, was erected over his grave in the Howff. The monument is of
grey polished granite, surmounted by an urn. the drapery of which is very
gracefully disposed' together about twelve feet high. The cost of the monument
was about £130. It bears the following inscription :
DAVID RUSSELL,
D. D.,
Was for nearly Forty Years the Beloved Pastor
Of the
CONG REGATIONAL
CHURCH
ASSEMBLING IN WARD CHAPEL, DUNDEE.
He died 23rd September, 1848,
In the 69th Year of his Age.
His sorrowing People have placed this Monument over his Grave.
He was an eloquent man, and mighty in the Scriptures. Acts
xviii. 24.
He was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,
and much'
people was added unto the Lord. Acts xi. 24.
ff any man serve me, let him follow me ; and where I am, there
shall also my
servant be : if any man serve me, him will my Father honour.
John xii. 26.
Mrs Russell survived her husband ten years, her death taking
place on Sept. 25, 1858, at the age of 80.
The Congregational Chapel, Hawkhill, which was named Russell
Chapel in memory of the esteemed minister of Ward Chapel, was opened on
Wednesday, June 9, 1869 the Rev. John Masson pastor.
Source 4
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