John Ross MacDuff (1818 - 1895) was a Church of Scotland minister, author and hymnwriter. Born in Bonhard, Scone, Perthshire, Macduff was educated at the University of Edinburgh and ordained as minister of Kettins, (Forfarshire) in 1843, from there he served St Madoes, (Perthshire ) until 1855 when he was called to the new charge of Sandyford, in the west-end of Glasgow. Retiring from Sandyford in 1870, he removed to Chislehurst, Kent, where he continued his literary work. In 1857 he was appointed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland a member of their Hymnal Committee.
Macduff's 'The Chronicles of Taxwood' is an attempt to provide a benign fictional account of typical characters populating an imaginary rural Church of Scotland parish in the last quarter of the 19th century.
To a large degree, Macduff is reacting to the more cynical Scottish Kailyard school of Ian Maclaren, J. M. Barrie, et. al., as well as Nicholas Dickson's 'The Kirk and its Worthies' which lampoon the old-fashioned Presbyterian orthodoxy.
Due to a lack of realism, a pretentious use of language, and a saccharine nostalgia, Macduff's pen portraits largely fail to redress the balance.
John Ross MacDuff was born May 23, 1818 in Bonhard, Scotland. He died at his home in Chislehurst, Kent, England on April 30, 1895. John Ross MacDuff was a Presbyterian minister and a prolific writer of excellent Christian books and materials. He was especially known for the practical, poetic, and devotional qualities of his work. He was also a published poet and hymn writer. John Ross MacDuff had Doctor of Divinity Degrees from the University of Glasgow and the University of New York. He served as a pastor for many years in several churches, including the Church of Scotland.
One of the hymns John Ross MacDuff wrote the words for was Christ Is Coming! - Published in 1853.
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