Charles Ovenden

Charles Ovenden
Born	Charles Thomas Ovenden (1846-09-11)11 September 1846 Enniskillen, County Fermanagh
Died	9 July 1924(1924-07-09) (aged 77) Earlscliffe, Baily, County Dublin
Church	Anglican

Charles Thomas Ovenden (11 September 1846 – 9 July 1924)[1] was an Irish Anglican priest,[2] author,[3] and Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin of the Church of Ireland.[4]

Early life and education

Born in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland[5] he was educated at the Portora Royal School, Enniskillen and Trinity College, Dublin.

Career

Ordained in 1870,[6] his first position was as a curate at Magdalene Church, Belfast. Later he was Rector of Dunluce, County Antrim[7] and then Succentor at St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin. He was Rector of Portrush from 1884 to 1886 when he became Precentor of Clogher.[8] In 1903 he became Dean of Clogher[9] before moving to Dublin in 1911.[10]

During World War I he protested the German submarine actions and while the Dean of St. Patrick's Church was quoted by The Telegraph as saying that he prays with all heart "that [the German] knavish tricks might be confounded".[11]

Personal life

He married Isabella Mary Ovenden (née Robinson) in 1871. Their daughters were paediatrician Isabella (‘Ella’) Gertrude Amy Webb (16 October 1877–1946) and Florence Irene Harriet Wynne-Finch (née Ovenden).[12][13] They raised Charles Ovenden's niece, confusingly also named Isabella Gertrude Webb but born 28 October 1877. The later child's parents, William Henry (Charles' brother) and Edith Ovenden née Lamb, fought contentious divorce and custody proceedings in New Zealand, as a result of which a judge placed Webb's cousin in the custody of Charles and Isabella in Ireland.[14][12]

References

1. "The Dean Of St. Patrick's". The Times. No. 43701. London. 11 July 1924. p. 16; col. E. ISSN 0140-0460.
2. Fryde, E.B.; Greenway, D.E.; et al. (1996), Handbook of British Chronology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, ISBN 9780521563505
3. Amongst others he wrote "To Whom shall we go?", 1902; "The Church Navvy", 1903; "The Enthusiasm of Christianity", 1904; "Problems in Life and Religion", 1906; "Deep Questions", 1907; and "Modern Criticism of the Holy Scriptures", 1913 > British Library website accessed 19:47 GMT 28 February 2011
4. "New Dean Of St. Patrick's", The Times, no. 39648, p. 4, 27 July 1911
5. Who was Who 1897-2007 London, A & C Black, 2007, ISBN 9780199540877
6. Ordination Services in Holywood Parish Church. The Belfast News-Letter (Belfast, Ireland), Monday, 26 September 1870; Issue 54827
7. "Clogher clergy and parishes : being an account of the clergy of the Church of Ireland in the Diocese of Clogher, from the earliest period, with historical notices of the several parishes, churches, etc" Leslie, J.B. p39: Enniskille; R. H. Ritchie; 1929
8. "The Clergy List, Clerical Guide and Ecclesiastical Directory" London, John Phillips, 1900
9. Cathedrals in the Clogher Diocese
10. "A New History of Ireland" by Theodore William Moody, F. X. Martin, Francis John Byrne, Art Cosgrove: Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1976 ISBN 0198217455
11. "Their Knavish Tricks", The Daily Telegraph, p. 9, 16 April 1915, ISSN 0307-1235, OCLC 49632006, retrieved 16 April 2015
12. Unknown. "Earlscliffe Residents 1922 to 1930". The Robinson Garden at Earlscliffe, Baily, Co. Dublin, Ireland. Archived from the original on 12 February 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2015.
13. "Webb, Isabella ('Ella') Gertrude Amy | Dictionary of Irish Biography". www.dib.ie. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
14. "SUPREME COURT. Press, Volume XLVIII, Issue 7902, 30 June 1891, Page 3". paperspast.natlib.govt.nz. Retrieved 2 October 2022.

External links

• "Ovenden, Charles Thomas" . Thom's Irish Who's Who . Dublin: Alexander Thom and Son Ltd. 1923. p. 199  – via Wikisource.

Church of Ireland titles
Preceded by George Tottenham	Dean of Clogher 1903–1911	Succeeded by Arthur Newburgh Haire-Forster
Preceded by John Henry Bernard	Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin 1911–1924	Succeeded by Hugh Jackson Lawlor