Sir James Marshall (1829–1889) was a

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Anglican 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 th ...

clergyman who converted to

Roman Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...

and became Chief Justice of the Gold Coast, now Ghana. He played a significant role in enhancing the growth of the Roman Catholic Church there and also in Nigeria.

Early life

The son of a Presbyterian minister, James Marshall, and his wife Catherine Mary Richmond, daughter of

Legh Richmond Legh Richmond (1772–1827) was a Church of England clergyman and writer. He is noted for tracts, narratives of conversion that innovated in the relation of stories of the poor and female subjects, and which were subsequently much imitated. He wa ...

, he was born in

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, on 19 December 1829. He lost his right arm as the result of an accident at the age of 16.

Anglican ministry and conversion to Catholicism

After taking a degree at Exeter College, Oxford, he became a High Church Anglican minister in 1852 and was appointed

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

in Trysull, near Wolverhampton. In 1854, he became curate at St. Bartholomew's Church, Moor Lane, in the parish of

St. Giles, Cripplegate St Giles-without-Cripplegate is an Anglican church in the City of London, located on Fore Street within the modern Barbican complex. When built it stood without (that is, outside) the city wall, near the Cripplegate. The church is dedicated t ...

, London. Marshall was received into the Roman Catholic Church in 1857 but never became a Catholic priest. In 1863 he was appointed classical master at Birmingham Oratory School, where he became a friend of

Cardinal Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English theologian, academic, intellectual, philosopher, polymath, historian, writer, scholar and poet, first as an Anglican priest and later as a Catholic priest and cardi ...

Legal practice and judicial service

Marshall studied law and was

called to the Bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

at the Middle Temple in 1868. He practised law in Manchester where he helped to found '' The Catholic Times''. In 1873 he accepted an appointment in the British Colonial Service as Chief Magistrate and Judicial Assessor to the native chiefs in the Gold Coast, arriving there in July. On the breaking out of the Ashanti War in 1874, he secured the chiefs' assent to the impressment of their tribesmen, and was of great use throughout the campaign in raising levies. He made a good impression on the

Ashanti people The Asante, also known as Ashanti () are part of the Akan ethnic group and are native to the Ashanti Region of modern-day Ghana. Asantes are the last group to emerge out of the various Akan civilisations. Twi is spoken by over nine million Asante ...

, who regarded him as a veteran general who had lost his arm in battle. In 1874 Marshall left the Cape Coast and transferred, on his promotion to Puisne Judge, to Lagos, arriving there in January 1875. He served as Chief Justice of the Gold Coast (now Ghana) from 1880 to 1882.

Role in the Catholic Church

Marshall believed that the Gold Coast offered a very favourable environment for the return of Roman Catholic missionaries. In 1879 he asked the Office of the Propagation of Faith in Rome to provide missionaries. This led to the Society of African Missions transferring the pioneer French priests Auguste Moreau and Eugene Murat, both French nationals, from the Island of St. Helene station (South Africa Mission), to establish the Catholic Mission in the Gold Coast at Elmina and the creation of the Roman Catholic Church's Apostolic Prefecture of the Gold Coast. Marshall played a significant role in enhancing the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in Lagos and was involved in preparations for the establishment of the Roman Catholic Church at Asaba, Nigeria.

Personal life

He married Alice Young on 25 October 1877. They had a son (Bernard) and a daughter (Mary).

Honours

Marshall was awarded the

Ashanti Medal The Ashanti Medal was sanctioned in October 1901 and was the first campaign medal authorised by Edward VII. This medal was created for those troops engaged in the Third Ashanti Expedition, also known as the War of the Golden Stool. This expedition ...

by Queen Victoria in 1874 for his leadership role in the Ashanti War, and on his retirement in 1882 was knighted by the Queen as a Knight Commander of the

Order of St Michael and St George The Most Distinguished Order of Saint Michael and Saint George is a British order of chivalry founded on 28 April 1818 by George IV, George IV, Prince of Wales, while he was acting as prince regent for his father, George III, King George III. ...

. Pope Leo XIII conferred on him the title of Knight Commander of St. Gregory the Great in 1889.

Death and legacy

He died on 9 August 1889, aged 60, and was buried in the churchyard cemetery at St Mary Magdalen’s Roman Catholic Church Mortlake. His wife Alice died in 1926 and is also buried in the churchyard. There is a plaque inside the church in their memory. It was unveiled on 11 August 1989, 100 years after his death. The Knights and Ladies of Marshall, a lay association of Ghanaian Catholics, visit the church in Mortlake annually to celebrate a Mass in his memory.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marshall, James 1829 births 1889 deaths 19th-century Anglican clergy Alumni of Exeter College, Oxford Burials at St Mary Magdalen Roman Catholic Church Mortlake Burials in England Catholic Church in Ghana Catholic Church in Nigeria Colonial Nigeria judges Gold Coast (British colony) judges Knights Commander of the Order of St Gregory the Great Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Lawyers from Manchester Scottish amputees Scottish Anglo-Catholics Scottish Roman Catholics