John Drysdale

John Drysdale FRSE (29 April 1718 – 16 June 1788) was twice Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, both in 1773 and in 1784. He was Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland 1766 to 1788, and Chaplain in Ordinary to George III. He was brother-in-law to Robert Adam and father-in-law to Andrew Dalzell. Life Drysdale was born in Kirkcaldy in Fife on 29 April 1714, the third son of Anne Ferguson and her husband, Rev John Drysdale, minister of Kirkcaldy Parish Church. His maternal grandfather, William Ferguson, was Provost of Kirkcaldy. He was educated at Kirkcaldy Parish School alongside Adam Smith and James Oswald each of whom became a lifelong friend. In 1732 John was sent to the University of Edinburgh to study classics, philosophy and theology, though taking no final degree. Around 1736 he began to specialise in divinity. He was licensed as a minister by the Presbytery of Kirkcaldy in 1740. His early service was as assistant in the Trinity College Church in Edinburgh.