Stone No.380
Inscription. |
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 CONGREGATIONAL 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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