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ERSKINE, RALPH (1685-1752). —Scottish Divine and poet, was b. near Cornhill, Northumberland, where his f., a man of ancient Scottish family, was, for the time, a nonconforming minister. He became minister of Dunfermline, and, with his brother Ebenezer, was involved in the controversies in the Church of Scotland, which led to the founding of the Secession Church in 1736. He has a place in literature as the writer of devotional works, especially for his Gospel Sonnets (of which 25 ed. had appeared by 1797), and Scripture Songs (1754).
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