Skip to main content
Personal data
Name
James Jopp
Born April 13, 1722
Died July 07, 1794
Alias
Provost Jopp
Laird of Cotton
Biography

Merchant and five-time Provost of Aberdeen.

Jopp was the son of Andrew Jopp (d. 1742), a tailor and merchant in Insch, and Janet Innes. In 1752, he married Jean Moir (1730-1782), a daughter of the Rev. George Moir, with whom he had 11 children, 6 of them surviving to adulthood.

He made a considerable fortune as a wine and cloth merchant, and in 1776 purchased the lands of Cotton from Lady Diana Middleton. Jopp was elected Provost of Aberdeen several times, from 1768 to 1770, from 1772 to 1774, from 1776 to 1778, from 1780 to 1782 and again in 1786, although he refused to act as Provost following his last election due to health issues.

 

 

Life with Boswell

On August 23, 1773, Boswell and Dr Johnson went to the Town Hall in Aberdeen, where Johnson was presented with the Freedom of the City by Provost Jopp. According to Boswell, "Provost Jopp did it with a very good grace." The Provost dined with them later that day at Sir Alexander Gordon's, together with Professors Ross, Dunbar and Gordon.