Life
He was born in Edinburgh in 1584. His Edinburgh address is unknown but was somewhere on the upper section of the Royal Mile. Given the small population of Edinburgh, rarity of the name, and political connection, it is highly likely that he was the great-grandson of Sir Thomas Tod, four times Provost of Edinburgh in the 15th century.
He joined Edinburgh's town council in 1622.[1] He was three times Baillie and twice Dean of Guild.[2]
In 1646 he succeeded Sir John Smith of Grothill as Provost. He was elected in preference to the more active figure, the Covenanter, Edward Edgar. On 29 May 1648 he was attacked by a mob on the Royal Mile due to his involvement in a levy on the population towards the war.[3]
His term of office was interrupted by James Steuart, of Coltness from 1648 to 1652. Tod did not stand in the controversial 1648 election, which took an unprecedented twelve days to resolve. Steuart held the role when the Covenanters took control of the city in September 1648. Tod was elected for a second term in 1651 (aged 67), representing a safe moderate line within continuing troubled times. After his second term of office he was succeeded by Sir Andrew Ramsay, Lord Abbotshall in 1654.[4]
He died on 9 February 1656 aged 71 and is buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard. The grave is largely illegible but lies between the tomb of William Chalmers and the tomb of John Byres of Coites (Coates), behind the sunken vault of John Baptist Medina.