Charles Dodgson ( – 21 January 1795) was an English

Anglican cleric The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. "Ministry" commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglica ...

who served in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...

as the

Bishop of Ossory The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remain ...

(1765–1775) then

Bishop of Elphin The Bishop of Elphin (; ) is an episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Elphin, County Roscommon, Ireland. In the Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but in the Church of Ireland it has been united with other ...

(1775–1795). Dodgson was born in

Howden Howden () is a market and minster town and civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, which lies across the ...

, Yorkshire. His date of birth is not recorded; he was baptised on 10 January 1722. His father, Christopher Dodgson (1696–1750), was the curate there. Charles Dodgson was educated at

Westminster School (God Gives the Increase) , established = Earliest records date from the 14th century, refounded in 1560 , type = Public school Independent day and boarding school , religion = Church of England , head_label = Hea ...

and

St. John's College, Cambridge St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge founded by the Tudor matriarch Lady Margaret Beaufort. In constitutional terms, the college is a charitable corporation established by a charter dated 9 April 1511. The ...

. After ordination, he was appointed to the parish of Bintry,

Norfolk Norfolk () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in East Anglia in England. It borders Lincolnshire to the north-west, Cambridgeshire to the west and south-west, and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the No ...

in 1746. He moved to the north of England, keeping a school at Stanwix in

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

and becoming Rector of

Kirby Wiske Kirby Wiske is an English village and civil parish in the Hambleton District of North Yorkshire. It lies beside the River Wiske, about north-west of Thirsk. History The village appears in the 1086 ''Domesday Book'' as Kirkebi in the Allerton ( ...

in 1755. He was tutor to

Lord Algernon Percy :'' Algernon Percy, 1st Earl of Beverley was also known as Lord Algernon Percy from 1766-86.'' Colonel Lord Algernon Malcolm Arthur Percy (2 October 1851 – 28 December 1933) was a British career soldier and Conservative politician who sat in t ...

, the son of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke ...

; in 1762, the Duke gave him the parish of

Elsdon, Northumberland Elsdon is a village and civil parish in the English county of Northumberland about to the southwest of Rothbury. The name is derived from the Old English meaning ''Elli's valley''. Formerly the capital of Redesdale, Elsdon contains a very fin ...

. Dodgson was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1762. Rapidly promoted, he was nominated to the bishopric of Ossory on 22 June and

consecrated Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

at St. Werburgh's Church, Dublin on 11 August 1765 by William Carmichael,

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin is an archepiscopal title which takes its name after Dublin, Ireland. Since the Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: one in the Catholic Church and the other in the Church of Irelan ...

. Ten years later, he was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the bishopric of Elphin by

letters patent Letters patent ( la, litterae patentes) ( always in the plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, president or other head of state, generally granting an office, right, monopoly, titl ...

on 12 April 1775., ''The Province of Connaught'', p. 129., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 393. King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of the two kingdoms on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Br ...

congratulated him on this promotion, saying that he ought indeed to be thankful to have got away from a palace where the stabling was so bad., ''The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll'', p. 5.

Marriage and children

In 1768, he married Mary Frances Smyth (1749–1796). Among their children were Captain Charles Dodgson (1769?–1803), Elizabeth Anne Dodgson (1770–1836) and 2nd Lieut. Percy Currer Dodgson RN (1782–1807). Captain Dodgson was the father of Charles Dodgson ( Archdeacon of Richmond) and the grandfather of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

. Elizabeth Dodgson married Major Charles Lutwidge; among their children was Frances, mother of Lewis Carroll. He died in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

on 21 January 1795 and was buried at St. Bride's Church, Dublin.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgson, Charles (bishop) 1720s births 1795 deaths People from Howden Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of Elphin Anglican bishops of Ossory 18th-century Anglican bishops in Ireland Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Westminster School, London Clergy from Yorkshire Dodgson family