Catherine Evans
Son of Alexander Dunlop, a Ayrshire Presbyterian Minister, and Elizabeth Mure. During his youth both his parents were imprisoned "for their constancy in the cause of the Covenant." He was tutor to Lord Cochrane's family, but in 1678 was summoned before the Privy council to answer the charge of being an unlicensed tutor and was removed from the post. In 1681 he married his cousin Sarah Castairs (1650-1733), daughter of John Carstairs minister of St. Mungo's. They had three sons together. The Presbyterians' position in Scotland was growing steadily worse, so Dunlop made plans to join a colonial venture. He set sail to South Carolina on the Carolina Merchant with Lord Cardross, arriving at Charles Town on 2 October 1684. The colonists established a settlement at Stuart's Town, where Dunlop would serve as chaplain and major in the militia. In 1686 Stuart Town was attached by Spanish troops, destroying the whole village. Dunlop remained in South Carolina and served on a committee considering the colony's constitution. He is thought to have returned to following the Revolution of 1688. There are records of him being in Lo0ndon in October 1689 and he likely returned to Scotland in January 1680. He was offered the ministry of Ochiltree and Paisley but decilined both posts. In December 1690 he was appointed Principal of the University of Glasgow. It is believed that this was in part due to his brother-in-law and cousin, William Carstares and his own role in uncovering a plot against William III in Scotland lead by Sir James Montgomerie. As Principal, Dunlop persuaded the King and Scottish Parliament to increase grants to the University. He became Historiographer Royal for Scotland in 1693, In the later 1690s, he invested £1,000 of his money in the ill-fated Darien Scheme, persuading the University to invest a similar amount. He died in Glasgow on 8 March 1700. Robert Wodrow claimed that 'in losing him we have lost one of the greatest antiquaries this nation ever produced', although only one of his published works remains. His two surviving sons, Alexander and William, became respectively professor of Greek at Glasgow and a professor of church history at Edinburgh.