James Crawford (17 December 1808-17 November 1863) was a Scottish lawyer and church elder from Edinburgh. After the Disruption of 1843 he sided with the Free Church and was elected Deputy Clerk of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland - a post he held for 20 years. He was also involved in local government and publishing. He served on several Free Church committees and was photographed in this role by Hill & Adamson.