NICOLSON, Thomas Joseph RC Bishop, Vicar Apostolic of Scotland, Right Reverend Mr ¹

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  General Notes:

"To the end he retained a great love for books and study. Already in 1706 James Gordon had been made his coadjutor and successor. The Roman Catholic church in Scotland was fortunate in its first bishop."

from Oxford DNB ²

  Research Notes:

AGE

Modern writers present Thomas Nicolson as having been born between 1642 and 1646. This is based on several references to his age and birth, in the register of Scots College, Douai, for example, which in 1682 recorded him as being 36 years of age. It is also generally accepted that he matriculated at Marischal College in Aberdeen in 1660.

In addition he is also referred to as the younger of two sons of his parents, a form of expression which can, in practice, actually mean two surviving sons.

The baptism records of Saint Nicholas parish Aberdeen show five children of Thomas Nicolson and Elizabeth Abercrombie baptised there. These dates are noted here. There are two boys called George, and the date for the only Thomas baptised seems much younger than the generally accepted year of birth for Bishop Thomas Nicolson. It is not impossible then that, whatever the baptismal arrangements for him were, the record is in fact not extant as at least one writer on his life and career maintains.

Since the family were Scottish Episcopalian in religious affilation, it may be that the troubles of King Charles I in the civil wars of the 1640s, followed by the king's execution in 1649, influenced in some way the places and times of the baptisms of the family's children who were born in the 1640s and 1650s. ^{2 3}

  Noted events in his life were:

1. Matriculation: Marischal College, Aberdeen, 1660. ^{2 4}

2. Appointed: Regent, 1666, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, Scotland. ² He taught Greek, mathematics and philosophy.

3. Refused: to take Test Act oath, 1681. ² He reigned his regency at Glasgow University as a result.

4. Converted: to Roman Catholicism, 1682. ¹

5. Entered: Scots College, 3 July 1682, Douai, France. ²

6. ordained: sub-deacon, Advent 1685, Scots College, Douai, France. ⁴

7. Appointed: teacher and Prefect of Studies, 1685 and earlier, Episcopal Seminary, Padua, Italy. ²

8. ordained: deacon, January 1686, Padua, Italy. ⁴

9. ordained: Priest, 9 March 1686. ¹

10. returned, December 1687, To Scotland. He worked in Edinburgh and Glasgow.

11. Imprisoned: duing revolution, December 1688, Scotland. ²

12. Banished, summer 1689. ² His brother was cautioner against his return.

13. Acted: as chaplain to English nuns, 1689-1694, Dunkirk, France. ² He was in poor health at this time.

14. Appointed: Vicar Apostolic, 7 September 1694. ^{1 2} He had the titular see of Peristachium.

15. ordained: Bishop, 27 February 1695, At Paris, France. ^{1 2} This was done in secret, and he could not return to Scotland until his brother's bond was cancelled.

16. Imprisoned: for six months, November 1695, England. ²

17. Arrived, July 1697, Edinburgh, Scotland. ²

18. Lived, 1697 on, Preshome, Banffshire, Scotland. ²

19. ordained: first priest since Reformation, 1704, In Scotland. ²

20. Set up: seminary, 1714, Loch Morar. ²

21. Imprisoned: for a short time, After Jacobite Rising of 1715. ²

22. Died, 12 October 1718, Preshome, Banffshire, Scotland. ²