John William Ashton (24 November 1866 – 20 March 1964) was the second

Bishop of Grafton The Anglican Diocese of Grafton is one of the 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese is located in north-east New South Wales and covers the area from the Queensland border to Port Macquarie in the south and west to the ...

Early life

Ashton was born in

Wakefield Wakefield is a cathedral city in West Yorkshire, England located on the River Calder. The city had a population of 99,251 in the 2011 census.https://www.nomisweb.co.uk/census/2011/ks101ew Census 2011 table KS101EW Usual resident population, ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, in 1866, the son of George Ashton and his wife Fanny (née Winter).

Career

Ashton was educated at

Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS) is an independent, public school for boys in Wakefield, West Yorkshire, England. The school was founded by Royal Charter of Queen Elizabeth I in 1591 at the request of leading citizens in Wakefield (headed ...

and

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the univer ...

, following which he was ordained deacon in 1892 and priest in 1893. He began his ordained ministry as a

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 ...

All Saints' Church, Northampton All Saints' Church, Northampton is a Church of England parish church in the centre of Northampton. The current church was largely built after a fire and was consecrated in 1680. It is a Grade I listed building. History Simon of St Liz, 1st Earl ...

(1892-1895), and then at

St Dionysius' Church, Market Harborough St Dionysius' Church, Market Harborough is a Grade I listed parish church in the Church of England in Market Harborough, Leicestershire. History The earliest parts of the church date from the 13th century, with most features dating from 14th an ...

(1895-1896). In 1896 he

emigrated Emigration is the act of leaving a resident country or place of residence with the intent to settle elsewhere (to permanently leave a country). Conversely, immigration describes the movement of people into one country from another (to permanentl ...

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

where he was

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St Andrew's, South Brisbane (1896-1900), Christ Church,

Bundaberg Bundaberg is a city in the Bundaberg Region, Queensland, Australia, and is the tenth largest city in the state. Bundaberg's regional area has a population of 70,921, and is a major centre of the Wide Bay–Burnett geographical region. The Bun ...

(1900-1903), briefly as a curate back in England at

St Peter's Church, Huddersfield St Peter's Church, also known as Huddersfield Parish Church, is a Church of England parish church in Huddersfield, West Yorkshire, England. There has been a church on the site since the 11th century, but the current building dates from 1836. It is ...

(1903-1904) and Organising Secretary of the Church of England Sunday School Institute (1904-1905), and a second incumbency at St Andrew's, South Brisbane (1906-1911) and then

Vicar A vicar (; Latin: ''vicarius'') is a representative, deputy or substitute; anyone acting "in the person of" or agent for a superior (compare "vicarious" in the sense of "at second hand"). Linguistically, ''vicar'' is cognate with the English pref ...

of All Saints',

East St Kilda St Kilda East is a suburb in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, 6 km south-east of Melbourne's Central Business District, located within the Cities of Glen Eira and Port Phillip local government areas. St Kilda East recorded a population of 1 ...

(1911-1921) before his ordination to the

episcopate A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. He retired as bishop in 1938.

Personal life

He married Maud Edith Anderson (1874-1951) in 1898; she was the daughter of the colonial administrator

John Gerard Anderson John Gerard Anderson (12 February 1836 – 23 August 1911) was a Scottish-born educationist. Emigrating to the Colony of Queensland in 1862, Anderson served various posts on its board of education and served as the 2nd Director-General of Edu ...

. They had three sons and two daughters. Ashton died on 20 March 1964.Bishop Ashton (Obituaries) ''The Times'' Saturday, Mar 21, 1964; pg. 12; Issue 55966; col A

References

1866 births Anglican bishops of Grafton 20th-century Anglican bishops in Australia 1964 deaths English emigrants to colonial Australia People from Wakefield Alumni of University College, Oxford Clergy from Yorkshire People educated at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Wakefield {{Australia-anglican-bishop-stub