The God of all grace had His witnesses on this earth since the days of Abel, and will continue to have them, however few in some ages, till the end of time. They are called “witnesses” in Scripture because they witness on the side of their God in their own generation, and speak to future generations to be constant, as they were, that they might receive the like reward. They witness partly by their faith in Christ Jesus, and partly in the fruit of their faith: “He that hath received his testimony, hath set to his seal that God is true.” We have the witness of these as opposed to those who “profess they know God but in works they deny Him” (Tit. i. 16). The subject of this sketch was a sincere “witness” in his own generation and “finished his course with joy” (Acts xx. 24).
Alexander Gollan’s father was a Lochalsh man and his mother was from Applecross; the two parishes referred to are of no great distance from each other on the sea. His father was the owner of a schooner with which he traded with home and foreign ports. Plockton being a good natural harbour for his father’s ship to anchor in, here his parents set up their home. Our subject was, however, born at Applecross, and in the hamlet of Ardbain, in the home of his grandparents, in February, 1881. When Alexander was yet a boy, his father was drowned, so his widowed mother, with her family of four, three sons and one daughter, removed from Plockton to Ardbain. One of his brothers, Kenneth, was at school at Plockton, and his other brother, John, went to visit him in a boat that happened to cross from Applecross, and was drowned with the other occupants of the boat. Kenneth took the death of his brother so much to heart that he took to his bed and pined away, and died in six weeks’ time. It was said by observants, at the time, that he died of a “broken heart.” Thus Alexander was bereft, in the mysterious providence of God, of his two brothers, and his widowed mother of her two sons in a short space of time. After a time his mother was married again to the noted John Macaulay, a native of Lochalsh, a sketch of whose life will be found in Volume XLVIII, page 54, of this Magazine. There were six of a family by this marriage, five daughters and one son, death claimed the son and two of the daughters, while three are still with us. Mrs. Macaulay, as she was known to most of our readers, was converted in her girlhood days, and was known to our people as a most pious and humble Christian, who lived very near her Lord. She was a great admirer of the noted Rev. Alexander MacColl, of Lochalsh, as all the godly of his day were, and she often found her way to Lochalsh to wait on his ministry on the Sabbath; the distance from Applecross was no obstacle, for her soul longed for the bread of life. Her recollections of MacColl’s ministry continued with her till the end of her days, and she could freely quote from his sermons. A sketch of her life will be found in Volume LI, page 173, of this Magazine. Our friend, as can be seen, was nurtured under a roof where true and vital godliness was constantly in practice, and had, no doubt, an indelible influence over him when he went out into the world, to earn his living, in after days.
The trade of which he made choice was that of tailoring. He learned that trade partly at Kyle and Edinburgh. We are not sure how long he worked in Edinburgh, but he removed to Glasgow when he was about twenty years of age, so as to be within reach of the late Rev. N. Cameron’s ministry, through whose preaching he got spiritual benefit before then. During his time in Glasgow he worked with a firm of the name of Mason and Westwater, who appreciated him as a reliable workman, and who on an occasion, with their employees, presented him with a tangible gift. There is nothing now known of his early spiritual experience. He himself was of a very reserved and quiet disposition and would not at any time speak directly of himself. His conduct was, however, distinguished by a holy tenderness which flowed from deep religious principles long embedded in his soul by the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration and progressive sanctification. In speaking to the “question” on Friday, at Communion seasons, he laid emphasis on conviction of sin as necessary in order to value Christ as a Saviour. From this and other Christian experiences given as “marks” of grace in the soul of the believer, one could see that he was relating, in an indirect way, how he himself “learned Christ.” We can safely characterise our late friend as a very humble and serious Christian, and a close walker with God, and a strict observer of the Lord’s Day. Prayer was his delight and constant exercise. He was careful to keep from the very border of every sin; and to abstain from “all appearance of evil.” He was of a most tender and compassionate spirit towards persons in trouble. We cannot ascertain the exact time of his life when he became a member in full communion. But it was in the congregation of St. Jude’s, Glasgow, and in his early twenties.
In 1911 he was married to Miss Jessie MacRae, and had a family of six, two of whom died early in life. In the loss of two members of his family, with only about a year between the death of the two, he tasted of the “waters of Marah” on his wilderness journey.
In the year 1914 he with his family left Glasgow and settled in Auchtertyre, in the parish of Lochalsh. The family afterwards resided at Kyle, before they finally settled in Plockton. He was an elder in the Plockton mission station for about twenty-two years. He was in demand as an assessor elder for congregations that needed assistance in that way. This gave him a seat in the Presbytery and Synod for many successive years. He served the Church as a lay preacher willingly, in his own parish and outside of it, without any remuneration. Many congregations round about will miss his services very much for week-end supply. He was always ready to give a helping hand and could give an address both in Gaelic and in English.
He was strong and robust till about nine months before his end, when he complained of an internal pain. After medical examination it was found that an operation was not advisable. He continued much in his usual, keeping services at home when required till January, 1953; even that month he took the services for three Sabbaths, and a prayer meeting towards the end of the month, which was his last public service. After this, general weakness, pain and discomfort set in. He knew his end was drawing near; he took it calmly and was reconciled to the will of God. Someone asked him if he had faith, to which he answered: “I need all the faith I have; the wise virgins had none to spare, but it is written, ‘Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find.'”
During the period when his pain and sickness were most severe, which ended in his death, his patience and serenity of mind were truly admirable. He longed to be in heaven. His last words to us, on parting with him a few days before his end were: “See now, and be praying that God will take me away.” So well was he fortified against what is to nature most terrible that few have been known to meet death with greater composure of spirit.
About ten days before his departure he himself thought his end was at hand; indeed, others thought so too, even the doctor who was in at the time. That day he asked one of his sons to read the 12th chapter of the book of Ecclesiastes, and part of the 89th Psalm. After that, as if giving his family a parting blessing, he said: “The Lord bless, keep and preserve you all, and keep you close to His word.” After this he revived a little but his discomfort was not any less. The day he was taken was a Sabbath, the 22nd of March last, and his constant prayer the whole of that day, until he breathed his last, was that of the Psalmist: “Create in me a clean heart, O God.” He was evidently seeking preparation for the place his soul longed after, and which he was about to enter. One of another denomination remarked to us, the day of his funeral, “He was a good man.” We were struck with the remark, and felt, after all, that this was the impression he made on those who differed from his doctrinal position. “He was a good man” no one could deny. Our heartfelt sympathy goes to his widow, two sons and two daughters, who mourn his loss, and to the congregation of Plockton and Kyle, who have lost a faithful and useful elder.
—A. B.