Background
Barclay was born in 1648 at Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom. He was the eldest of five children.
Barclay was born in 1648 at Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland, United Kingdom. He was the eldest of five children.
Robert Barclay was educated in Paris at Scots College, where Robert Barclay, his uncle and rector of the college, offered to make him his heir if he would espouse Catholicism.
In 1667, a year after his father, David Barclay, joined the Society of Friends, Robert Barclay also became a Quaker and a zealous defender of the faith. He was imprisoned several times for his religious views, but in 1679, by royal charter, confirmed by the Scottish Parliament in 1685, Barclay's estate at Ury, near Aberdeen, was made a "free barony" where persecuted Quakers could find refuge. In 1682 the proprietorship of East New Jersey was granted to Quakers, and Barclay was appointed nominal governor with power to appoint a deputy. Barclay never went to America.
Robert Barclay thought, that all people can be illuminated by the Inward Light of Christ which is the author of the Scriptures and will lead them into all truth.
Robert Barclay was married to Christian Mollison (c. 1651–1722), daughter of Gilbert Mollison of Aberdeen. They had seven children.