Background
He was born in 1780 at Libberton, Lanarkshire, the parish where his father Rev David Dickson (1753-1820) was minister.
Presbyterian minister secretary writer
He was born in 1780 at Libberton, Lanarkshire, the parish where his father Rev David Dickson (1753-1820) was minister.
He was educated at the parish school of Bothkennar and afterwards at Edinburgh University.
In May 1803 he was chosen junior minister of Saint Cuthbert"s Church, Edinburgh. After the death of the Sir Henry Moncrieff in 1827 Dickson was made senior minister at Saint Cuthbert"s, a position he held till his death. In 1824 the University of Edinburgh conferred on him the degree of Doctor of Divinity He had some reputation as a Hebrew scholar and his sermons were plain.
He avoided mixing in the doctrinal disputes which culminated in the Disruption of 1843 of the Scottish church.
On the occasion of Sir Walter Scott"s funeral he was chosen to hold the service in the house at Abbotsford. He was secretary of the Scottish Missionary Society for many years.
Dickson died 28 July 1842, and was buried in Saint Cuthbert"s Church, where a monument was erected to his memory.