Edward Garrard Marsh (1783–1862)
was an English poet and Anglican clergyman.

Life

He was son of the composer

John Marsh John Marsh may refer to: Politicians * John Marsh (MP fl. 1394–1397), MP for Bath * John Marsh (MP fl. 1414–1421), MP for Bath *John Allmond Marsh (1894–1952), Canadian Member of Parliament * John Otho Marsh Jr. (1926–2019), American c ...

.1750-1828: ''Concise Dictionary of National Biography''. He was a good friend of

William Hayley William Hayley (9 November 174512 November 1820) was an English writer, best known as the biographer of his friend William Cowper. Biography Born at Chichester, he was sent to Eton College, Eton in 1757, and to Trinity Hall, Cambridge, in 176 ...

, and associated with him and

William Blake William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake is now considered a seminal figure in the history of the poetry and visual art of the Romantic Age. ...

.See G.E. Bentley, Jr., ''The Stranger from Paradise: A Biography of William Blake'', especially pp.227-230. Marsh studied at

Wadham College, Oxford Wadham College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It is located in the centre of Oxford, at the intersection of Broad Street and Parks Road. Wadham College was founded in 1610 by Dorothy W ...

, and on graduating became a Fellow of

Oriel College, Oxford Oriel College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in Oxford, England. Located in Oriel Square, the college has the distinction of being the oldest royal foundation in Oxford (a title formerly claimed by University College, wh ...

. He was a curate at

Nuneham Nuneham Courtenay is a village and civil parish about southeast of Oxford. It occupies a pronounced section of the left bank of the River Thames. Geography The parish is bounded to the west by the River Thames and on other sides by field bound ...

, and then bought a chapel in

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

. He became Residentiary Canon at Southwell. He was vicar of Sandon, Hertfordshire and then Aylesford,

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

.Carleton, Hugh – The life of Henry Williams, Archdeacon of Waimate
Auckland 1874. He was

Bampton Lecturer The Bampton Lectures at the University of Oxford, England, were founded by a bequest of John Bampton. They have taken place since 1780. They were a series of annual lectures; since the turn of the 20th century they have typically been biennial ...

in 1848. At 7 July 1813 Marsh married Lydia Williams (

Gosport Gosport ( ) is a town and non-metropolitan borough on the south coast of Hampshire, South East England. At the 2011 Census, its population was 82,662. Gosport is situated on a peninsula on the western side of Portsmouth Harbour, opposite t ...

, England, 17 January 1788 - 13 December 1859) at Southwell, England. She was a sister of Rev. Henry Williams and Rev. William Williams.biography of Henry Williams
/ref> Their grandfather Rev. Thomas Williams was a

Congregational Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs its ...

minister. While he had connections to non-conformist family members, Marsh's beliefs followed that of low church evangelical

Anglicanism Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...

. He was also from 1821 a

prebendary A prebendary is a member of the Roman Catholic or Anglican clergy, a form of canon with a role in the administration of a cathedral or collegiate church. When attending services, prebendaries sit in particular seats, usually at the back of the ...

of Woodborough, Nottinghamshire, an office suppressed in 1841 by the

Church Commissioners The Church Commissioners is a body which administers the property assets of the Church of England. It was established in 1948 and combined the assets of Queen Anne's Bounty, a fund dating from 1704 for the relief of poor clergy, and of the Eccle ...

. In 1836 he was the vicar of Aylesford, Kent. He was a member of the

Church Missionary Society The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...

(CMS) and was described as 'influential' in the decision of

Henry Williams Henry Williams may refer to: Politicians * Henry Williams (activist) (born 2000), chief of staff of the Mike Gravel 2020 presidential campaign * Henry Williams (MP for Northamptonshire) (died 1558), Member of Parliament (MP) for Northamptonshire ...

and William Williams to convert to

in February 1818, and then to join the CMS."From about 1816 he (Henry Williams) came under the tutelage of his evangelical brother-in-law, Edward Marsh"
biography of Henry Williams
/ref> The South Africa and Patagonia missionary Allen Francis Gardiner's second wife, Elizabeth Lydia, was Marsh's daughter.Gardiner
/ref>

Works

*''The Book of Psalms translated into English Verse'' (1832) *''Two Hundred and Ten Psalms and Hymns, arranged in three series'' (1837) * ''Account of the Slavery of Friends in the Barbary States, towards the close of the seventeenth century'' (1848, primarily a selection from the letters of George Fox) * ''The Christian Doctrine of Sanctification : considered in eight sermons preached before the University of Oxford as the Bampton Lecture for the year 1848'' (1848)

Literature

* Robert N. Essick, "Blake, Hayley, and Edward Garrard Marsh: 'An Insect of Parnassus.'" Explorations: The Age of Enlightenment. Special Series 1 (1987): 58-84. * Ed. Brian Robins, "The John Marsh Journals: The Life and Times of Gentleman Composer (1752-1828)", Stuyvesant, NJ (1998 and 2011)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marsh, Edward Garrard 1862 deaths Anglican poets Alumni of Wadham College, Oxford Fellows of Oriel College, Oxford 1783 births English male poets People from Aylesford