Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Lawson, John Parker
LAWSON, JOHN PARKER (d. 1852), historical and miscellaneous writer, was ordained a minister in the episcopal church of Scotland. He was for some time a chaplain in the army, but afterwards lived in Edinburgh, writing for the booksellers. He died in 1852. Lawson wrote many works, the chief of which are: 1. ‘The Life of George Wishart of Pitarrow,’ Edinburgh, 1827, 12mo. 2. ‘Life and Times of William Laud, … Archbishop of Canterbury,’ 2 vols., London, 1829, 8vo. 3. ‘The History of Remarkable Conspiracies connected with English History during the Fifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries,’ 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1829, 8vo. This was issued in ‘Constable's Miscellany.’ 4. ‘The Roman Catholic Church in Scotland,’ Edinburgh, 1836, 8vo. 5. ‘Gazetteer of the Old and New Testaments, with Introductory Essay by William Fleming,’ 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1838, 8vo. 6. ‘Historical Tales of the Wars of Scotland,’ 2 vols., Edinburgh, 1839, 8vo. 7. ‘History of the Scottish Episcopal Church from the Revolution to the Present Time,’ Edinburgh, 1843, 8vo. This is still an authority. 8. ‘The Episcopal Church of Scotland from the Reformation to the Revolution,’ Edinburgh, 1844, 8vo. Lawson also edited in 1844 the first two volumes of Bishop Keith's ‘History of the Affairs of Church and State in Scotland’ for the Spottiswoode Society, and wrote the letterpress for Stanfield and Harding's ‘Scotland Delineated,’ Edinburgh, 1847–54, fol.
[Works; Cat. of the Advocates' Library; Allibone's Dict. of Engl. Lit.]