Ancrum
In the summer of 1648, at the age of 45, he had a call from the presbytery of Jedburgh to accept the parish on Ancrum. "Worthy famous Mr John Livingston" as he was fondly termed by his contemporaries was on the 13th July , 1647 presented to the Parish of Lothian by William , Earl of Lothian and was later admitted and installed on 25th April 1648 to the church at Ancrum, Roxburghshire.
This new posting appealed to him as he felt that the people to whom he was to minister were generally, " landwart and simple", and had never much gospel as to despise it.
Later in the autumn of that year, he moved with his family and servants alongwith his personal books and household wares from Stranraer. The journey involved a trek of over 100 miles on terrible roads with "ane numerous family, six children, one of them sucking the breast, four or five servants". Their safe arrival was attributed to the Lord.
Janet and John had increased their family by this time although his claim that there were six of them is questionable. The family record shows five surviving children in late 1648.
William was the sole survivor of their first four off-spring, and his siblings followed at frequent intervals, these being; Janet, 28th September, 1640; Marion, 10th October, 1642; John, 20th August, 1644; Agnes, 18th August, 1645; James, 22nd September, 1646; Johanna, 7th September, 1647.
Of these, John died within 14 months, and Johanna barely survived one month. The others reached adulthood along with William.
The Earl of Lothian allowed the family the use of his house until such times a house was built for them a few years later.
His future congregation were tractable but ignorant, and some of them were "loose in their carriage", and that it was a long time before they were ready to accept communion. Within a short period of time some of them began "to lay religion to heart."
