David Edward Easson (1897–1957)
David Edward Easson was born in 1897 in Wormit, Fife. His father, also David Edward Easson owned a drapery business in Wellgate, and was a city missionary in Dundee. He and his brother, John, attended Wormit Public School and Harris Academy in Dundee. David matriculated at United College in St Andrews for his first of fourteen years in 1914-15 to study Latin General, Greek General, and Mathematics General in the faculty of Arts. He received a Master of Arts in English with second class honours in 1918, with additional honours in Philosophy in 1920. He then transferred to St Marys College and received a Bachelor of Divinity in 1924. He began his PhD in November 1925 which he completed in 1928 under the title: “Scottish Monasticism: Its Relations with the Crown and the Church to the year 1378.” In 1920, David won the Tyndall Bruce Prize for his essay “A Critical Comparison of the Philosophies of Mill and Hume”. In 1926, he was elected as parish minister of Carrington in the Presbytery of Dalkeith, moving in 1930 to the parish of Mauchline, Ayrshire. In 1938, David’s father died at the age of 82. He became a Lecturer in Church History at Leed University in 1947, working his way up to Senior Lecturer. In July 1955 he was made an Honorary D.D. by the University of St Andrews. Six weeks before his death, David published his book “Medieval Religious Houses (Scotland)”. He died at the age of 60 in 1957 at his home near Leeds, survived by his wife.
This extract was researched and written by Louisa Stevens in May 2026.