Born circa 1757, he was the third son of John Craigie, of Kilgraston in the Ochil Hills, by his cousin and wife Anne Craigie, daughter of President Craigie.
The churchyard is impressive containing hundreds of monuments worthy of notice, including one to John Grant of Kilgraston (near Perth), and a three-bay Gothic mausoleum of the Gordons of Cluny by David Bryce.