James Godkin
Encyclopedia
James Godkin was an Irish
author and journalist who was influential on ecclesiastical and land questions.
in County Wexford
, into a Roman Catholic farming family. As a young man he married Sarah, a daughter of Anthony Lawrence, described as a "comfortable proprietor" of County Wicklow
, who was of Cromwellian settler ancestry
. Together, they had three daughters and two sons, one of whom was Edwin Lawrence Godkin
.
as a Congregational
minister and became a pastor
in Armagh
. He later worked as a missionary
to Roman Catholics for the Irish Evangelical Society.
In 1836, he published A Guide from the Church of Rome to the Church of Christ and in 1838 founded the Christian Patriot newspaper at Belfast
. His counter-blast to the Oxford Movement
, The Touchstone of Orthodoxy and Apostolic Christianity, or, The People's Antidote Against Puseyism and Romanism, appeared in 1842. His religious work was forceful but showed little bigotry.
In 1842, Godkin became an ally of Charles Gavan Duffy
on the Irish land question, and his interest in religion began to give way to his involvement in political protest. In 1845 it was revealed that he had written a prize-winning essay called The Rights of Ireland, and he parted company with the Irish Evangelical Society.
Godkin became a journalist. He edited the Derry Standard, and in 1848 he decided to abandon the ministry. He next moved to London
, where he worked as a contributor to many publications, including the British Quarterly Review, the North British Review, the Standard of Freedom, the Belfast Independent, and the Freeman's Journal
. In 1850, he was an active member of the Irish Tenant League. After two years in England, he moved to Dublin, where he took up the chief editorial post on the city's new Daily Express
newspaper. Simultaneously, he was the Dublin correspondent of The Times
of London.
Godkin was an influential writer on ecclesiastical and land questions. He published a treatise called Ireland and her Churches (1867), which advocated equal treatment of the churches in Ireland, as well as security of land tenure
for the Irish people. It also contained outspoken views on the Famine, emigration
, the Land War
, and education. A British government led by Gladstone
decided to support the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland
, and the Irish Church Disestablishment Act 1869 took effect on 1 January 1871. In the 1860s, Godkin's work on Irish subjects appeared in the Fortnightly Review
.
In 1869, he travelled around much of Ulster
and the rest of Ireland to test public opinion on the land question, which led to his book The Land War in Ireland (1870). This coined the name of the ensuing Land War
rural agitation of the 1880s. The book was influential as it coincided with the Dublin Land Conference in 1870 and the Landlord & Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870, the first of the reforming Irish Land Acts
.
Godkin also published work on religion and education in India and a history of England from 1820 to 1861.
In 1873, on the recommendation of Gladstone, Queen Victoria
granted Godkin a pension from the Civil List
. When he died in 1879 he was living in England at Upper Norwood
, Surrey
. One son, Edwin Lawrence Godkin, became a notable newspaper editor in America, editor-in-chief of The Nation and the Evening Post
, and in 1870 declined the appointment of professor of history at Harvard
.
Godkin's Ireland and Her Churches was republished in 2007.
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
author and journalist who was influential on ecclesiastical and land questions.
Early life and family
Godkin was born at GoreyGorey
Gorey , is a market town in north County Wexford, Ireland, situated beside the main M11 Dublin to Wexford road. The town is also connected to the railway network along the same route. Local newspapers include the Gorey Guardian and Gorey Echo....
in County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
, into a Roman Catholic farming family. As a young man he married Sarah, a daughter of Anthony Lawrence, described as a "comfortable proprietor" of County Wicklow
County Wicklow
County Wicklow is a county in Ireland. It is part of the Mid-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wicklow, which derives from the Old Norse name Víkingalág or Wykynlo. Wicklow County Council is the local authority for the county...
, who was of Cromwellian settler ancestry
Plantations of Ireland
Plantations in 16th and 17th century Ireland were the confiscation of land by the English crown and the colonisation of this land with settlers from England and the Scottish Lowlands....
. Together, they had three daughters and two sons, one of whom was Edwin Lawrence Godkin
Edwin Lawrence Godkin
Edwin Lawrence Godkin was an American journalist and newspaper editor. He founded The Nation, and was editor-in-chief of the New York Evening Post 1883-1899.-Biography:...
.
Career
In 1834, Godkin was ordainedOrdination
In general religious use, ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies. The process and ceremonies of ordination itself varies by religion and denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is...
as a Congregational
Congregational church
Congregational churches are Protestant Christian churches practicing Congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its own affairs....
minister and became a pastor
Pastor
The word pastor usually refers to an ordained leader of a Christian congregation. When used as an ecclesiastical styling or title, this role may be abbreviated to "Pr." or often "Ps"....
in Armagh
Armagh
Armagh is a large settlement in Northern Ireland, and the county town of County Armagh. It is a site of historical importance for both Celtic paganism and Christianity and is the seat, for both the Roman Catholic Church and the Church of Ireland, of the Archbishop of Armagh...
. He later worked as a missionary
Missionary
A missionary is a member of a religious group sent into an area to do evangelism or ministries of service, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care and economic development. The word "mission" originates from 1598 when the Jesuits sent members abroad, derived from the Latin...
to Roman Catholics for the Irish Evangelical Society.
In 1836, he published A Guide from the Church of Rome to the Church of Christ and in 1838 founded the Christian Patriot newspaper at Belfast
Belfast
Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...
. His counter-blast to the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
, The Touchstone of Orthodoxy and Apostolic Christianity, or, The People's Antidote Against Puseyism and Romanism, appeared in 1842. His religious work was forceful but showed little bigotry.
In 1842, Godkin became an ally of Charles Gavan Duffy
Charles Gavan Duffy
Additional Reading*, Allen & Unwin, 1973.*John Mitchel, A Cause Too Many, Aidan Hegarty, Camlane Press.*Thomas Davis, The Thinker and Teacher, Arthur Griffith, M.H. Gill & Son 1922....
on the Irish land question, and his interest in religion began to give way to his involvement in political protest. In 1845 it was revealed that he had written a prize-winning essay called The Rights of Ireland, and he parted company with the Irish Evangelical Society.
Godkin became a journalist. He edited the Derry Standard, and in 1848 he decided to abandon the ministry. He next moved to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, where he worked as a contributor to many publications, including the British Quarterly Review, the North British Review, the Standard of Freedom, the Belfast Independent, and the Freeman's Journal
Freeman's Journal
The Freeman's Journal was the oldest nationalist newspaper in Ireland. It was founded in 1763 by Charles Lucas and was identified with radical 18th century Protestant patriot politicians Henry Grattan and Henry Flood...
. In 1850, he was an active member of the Irish Tenant League. After two years in England, he moved to Dublin, where he took up the chief editorial post on the city's new Daily Express
Daily Express (Dublin)
The Daily Express of Dublin was an Irish newspaper published from 1851 until June 1921, and then continued for registration purposes until 1960.It was a unionist newspaper. From 1917, its title was the Daily Express and Irish Daily Mail...
newspaper. Simultaneously, he was the Dublin correspondent of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
of London.
Godkin was an influential writer on ecclesiastical and land questions. He published a treatise called Ireland and her Churches (1867), which advocated equal treatment of the churches in Ireland, as well as security of land tenure
Land tenure
Land tenure is the name given, particularly in common law systems, to the legal regime in which land is owned by an individual, who is said to "hold" the land . The sovereign monarch, known as The Crown, held land in its own right. All private owners are either its tenants or sub-tenants...
for the Irish people. It also contained outspoken views on the Famine, emigration
Emigration
Emigration is the act of leaving one's country or region to settle in another. It is the same as immigration but from the perspective of the country of origin. Human movement before the establishment of political boundaries or within one state is termed migration. There are many reasons why people...
, the Land War
Land War
The Land War in Irish history was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. The agitation was led by the Irish National Land League and was dedicated to bettering the position of tenant farmers and ultimately to a redistribution of land to tenants from...
, and education. A British government led by Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone
William Ewart Gladstone FRS FSS was a British Liberal statesman. In a career lasting over sixty years, he served as Prime Minister four separate times , more than any other person. Gladstone was also Britain's oldest Prime Minister, 84 years old when he resigned for the last time...
decided to support the disestablishment of the Church of Ireland
Church of Ireland
The Church of Ireland is an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. The church operates in all parts of Ireland and is the second largest religious body on the island after the Roman Catholic Church...
, and the Irish Church Disestablishment Act 1869 took effect on 1 January 1871. In the 1860s, Godkin's work on Irish subjects appeared in the Fortnightly Review
Fortnightly Review
Fortnightly Review was one of the most important and influential magazines in nineteenth-century England. It was founded in 1865 by Anthony Trollope, Frederic Harrison, Edward Spencer Beesly, and six others with an investment of £9,000; the first edition appeared on 15 May 1865...
.
In 1869, he travelled around much of Ulster
Ulster
Ulster is one of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the north of the island. In ancient Ireland, it was one of the fifths ruled by a "king of over-kings" . Following the Norman invasion of Ireland, the ancient kingdoms were shired into a number of counties for administrative and judicial...
and the rest of Ireland to test public opinion on the land question, which led to his book The Land War in Ireland (1870). This coined the name of the ensuing Land War
Land War
The Land War in Irish history was a period of agrarian agitation in rural Ireland in the 1870s, 1880s and 1890s. The agitation was led by the Irish National Land League and was dedicated to bettering the position of tenant farmers and ultimately to a redistribution of land to tenants from...
rural agitation of the 1880s. The book was influential as it coincided with the Dublin Land Conference in 1870 and the Landlord & Tenant (Ireland) Act 1870, the first of the reforming Irish Land Acts
Irish Land Acts
The Land Acts were a series of measures to deal with the question of peasant proprietorship of land in Ireland in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Five such acts were introduced by the government of the United Kingdom between 1870 and 1909...
.
Godkin also published work on religion and education in India and a history of England from 1820 to 1861.
In 1873, on the recommendation of Gladstone, Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
granted Godkin a pension from the Civil List
Civil list
-United Kingdom:In the United Kingdom, the Civil List is the name given to the annual grant that covers some expenses associated with the Sovereign performing their official duties, including those for staff salaries, State Visits, public engagements, ceremonial functions and the upkeep of the...
. When he died in 1879 he was living in England at Upper Norwood
Upper Norwood
Upper Norwood is an elevated area in south London, England within the postcode SE19. It is a residential district largely in the London Borough of Croydon although some parts extend into the London Borough of Lambeth, London Borough of Southwark and the London Borough of Bromley. Upper Norwood...
, Surrey
Surrey
Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
. One son, Edwin Lawrence Godkin, became a notable newspaper editor in America, editor-in-chief of The Nation and the Evening Post
Evening Post
Evening Post may refer to:Newspapers:* Bristol Evening Post* Evening Post, Charleston; now The Post and Courier* New Evening Post * Jersey Evening Post* Lancashire Evening Post* London Evening Post...
, and in 1870 declined the appointment of professor of history at Harvard
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
Godkin's Ireland and Her Churches was republished in 2007.
External links
- James Godkin 1806-1879 at openlibrary.org
- A Hand-book of the Education Question by James Godkin (London: Saunders, Otley, & Co., 1862) at books.google.com
- The Land-War in Ireland (1870) by James Godkin, full text at gutenberg.org