James Paton

James Paton (1522 – 1596) was a 16th-century Scottish cleric from Ballilisk, an estate in the parish of Muckhart, west of Kinross. As Ballilisk appears to have been a rectory serving the adjacent chapel at Muckhart his family are presumed to have included priests who served the parish in Pre-Reformation days.

He matriculated at St Salvator's College, University of St Andrews on 26 November 1540. He appears to have trained in Theology and was likely a priest pre-Reformation. At the Scottish Reformation of 1560 he adopted the Protestant stance, and certainly by January 1565 is listed as minister of Muckhart parish, which was then in Perthshire.

Family

He is known to have had four children, including Archibald Paton, who served in Dunkeld Cathedral during his father's episcopate.

His descendants stayed in Muckhart until 1760 when James and Andrew Paton left to live in Alloa, working as weavers and dyers. James' son John Paton (1768-1848) established the successful Kincraig cotton thread mill, which spawned Paton's cotton company. The later descendants included the eminent Forrester-Paton family which included Ernest Forrester Paton, Colin Forrester-Paton and Catherine Forrester Paton.