Henry Youngman (1848–1927) was a Methodist minister. He was President-General of the

Methodist Church of Australasia The Methodist Church of Australasia was a Methodist denomination based in Australia. On 1 January 1902, five Methodist denominations in Australia – the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Primitive Methodists, the Bible Christian Church, the United ...

and often described as the Father of Methodism in Queensland.

Early life

Youngman was born in

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it had ...

, England in December 1848. As a boy, he immigrated with his parents to

Goulburn Goulburn ( ) is a regional city in the Southern Tablelands of the Australian state of New South Wales, approximately south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Canberra. It was proclaimed as Australia's first inland city through letters pate ...

New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...

, where they worshipped at the Wesleyan Church.

Religious life

Under the tuition of the late Rev.

William Curnow William Curnow (1832 – 14 October 1903) was a Cornish Australian journalist, and Methodist minister, and was editor of ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' for 15 years. Early life Curnow was baptised on 2 December 1832 at St Ives, Cornwall, Unite ...

, the minister of that circuit, Henry Youngman proved to be an apt pupil in all that pertained to preaching, and in the year 1871 was appointed to the ministry to the difficult circuit of Fish River, with residence at

Oberon Oberon () is a king of the fairies in medieval and Renaissance literature. He is best known as a character in William Shakespeare's play ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'', in which he is King of the Fairies and spouse of Titania, Queen of the Fair ...

. The following year he was sent to

Deniliquin Deniliquin () is a town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, close to the border with Victoria. It is the largest town in the Edward River Council local government area. Deniliquin is located at the intersection of the Riverina ...

, and then spent two years as second minister of the

Mudgee Mudgee is a town in the Central West (New South Wales), Central West of New South Wales, Australia. It is in the broad fertile Cudgegong River valley north-west of Sydney and is the largest town in the Mid-Western Regional Council Local gover ...

circuit. Three years were spent in Tamworth, and then followed terms in

Adelong Adelong is a small town in the Riverina region of New South Wales, Australia, situated on the banks of the Adelong Creek. Adelong sits on the Snowy Mountains Highway and is a part of the Snowy Valleys Council. At the , Adelong had an urban popul ...

, Newtown, Ashfield and

Wollongong Wollongong ( ), colloquially referred to as The Gong, is a city located in the Illawarra region of New South Wales, Australia. The name is believed to originate from the Dharawal language, meaning either 'five islands/clouds', 'ground near wate ...

. At the end of 1887 when absent from the Conference, Youngman was appointed to

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , established_ ...

, to the Albert Street circuit in

Brisbane Brisbane ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the states and territories of Australia, Australian state of Queensland, and the list of cities in Australia by population, third-most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a populati ...

. He learned of his appointment when he opened the morning paper at his breakfast-table. He served at Albert Street from 1888 to 1892, being very involved in the sale of the old site and the purchase of the present site. From Brisbane he went to

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 C ...

(1891 to 1893), then to

Toowong Toowong is a riverside suburb in the City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. In the , Toowong had a population of 10,830 people. Geography Toowong is situated between Mount Coot-tha and the Brisbane River and is made up of rolling hills w ...

(1893-1896), and following that to

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line r ...

(1896-1899) and

Gympie Gympie ( ) is a city and a Suburbs and localities (Australia), locality in the Gympie Region, Queensland, Australia. In the Wide Bay-Burnett District, Gympie is about north of the state capital, Brisbane. The city lies on the Mary River (Queen ...

(1900–1903). At the end of three years (1904–1906) in West End, Brisbane, Youngman was made Connexional Secretary in the year 1907, and this post he practically held up to the time of his death. In the 1890s Youngman was active in trying to unite the

Wesleyan Methodists The Wesleyan Church is a Methodist Christian denomination aligned with the holiness movement. Wesleyan Church may also refer to: * Wesleyan Methodist Church of Australia, the Australian branch of the Wesleyan Church Denominations * Allegheny We ...

and

Primitive Methodists The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primiti ...

in Queensland, contributing to the formation of the Methodist Church of Australasia in 1902 which amalgamated a number of previously separate Methodist denominations. When Youngman came to Brisbane in 1888 he saw that it was essential for Methodism that a Conference be established, and he lost no chance of urging for this. His efforts were rewarded in time, and the Conference was established in 1890 and he was the first President. In 1898, and again in 1907, he was called to the chair. In 1907 he was elected Secretary of the General Conference, and in 1910 was elected President-General of the

. Eleven years were spent in the chair of the connexional editor, and many other offices were held by him. From 1921 to 1924 he was Chairman of the Presbyterian and Methodist Schools Association in Queensland. For several years he was joint editor of "

The Methodist ''Uniting'' was a weekly English language broadsheet newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was first published in 1892 as ''The Methodist, ''and subsequently for about a year as ''The Methodist and Congregationalist'', be ...

", with the Revs. G. Martin and B. J. Meek. He also served as an editor of "Weekly Advocate" and "Christian Witness". Youngman excelled as a preacher and his success in many aspects of Methodist ministry demonstrated that a man could succeed in ministry without the benefit of formal scholastic training. In 1913 the Victoria University of Toronto conferred the degree of

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

on Youngman in recognition of his eminent gifts and conspicuous service to Methodism in Queensland.

Later life

Youngman died at his residence in Dean Street, Toowong, Brisbane, early on Friday 11 March 1927 following several months of illness. As he had requested, it was a quiet funeral. He was buried in

Toowong Cemetery Toowong Cemetery is a heritage-listed cemetery on the corner of Frederick Street and Mt Coot-tha Road, Toowong, City of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. It was established in 1866 and formally opened in 1875. It is Queensland's largest cemet ...

on Saturday 12 March 1927. His second wife, three sons and a daughter survived him. He is commemorated by a memorial tablet in the Albert Street Uniting Church. It was unveiled by John Gladwell Wheen, the President-General of the

on Thursday 1 March 1928. His headstone in Toowong Cemetery was removed by the

Brisbane City Council Brisbane City Council (BCC) is the democratic executive local government authority for the City of Brisbane, the capital city of the state of Queensland, Australia. The largest City Council in Australia by population and area, BCC's jurisd ...

in the mid-1970s as part of a program to clean up "unsightly/demolished graves".

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Youngman, Henry (minister) Australian Methodist ministers 1848 births 1927 deaths English emigrants to Australia People from Kidderminster