John Edgar (13 June 1798 – 26 August 1866) was a minister, professor of theology, moderator of the

Secession Synod The Secession Synod was the Presbyterian Synod of Ireland from 1743 to 1840. History The Secession movement began in the 1733, when some Protestant preachers in Scotland observed what they saw as loosening in the orthodoxy of the Presbyterian Chur ...

in 1828 and moderator of the

Presbyterian Church of Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

in 1842. He was Honorary Secretary to the Presbyterian Home Mission during the Famine in 1847.

Life

He was born near

Ballynahinch Ballynahinch may refer to: Northern Ireland * Ballynahinch, County Armagh, a townland *Ballynahinch, County Down, a town Republic of Ireland *Ballynahinch (barony), in County Galway *Ballynahinch, County Galway, a townland in County Galway * Bally ...

on 13 June 1798, the eldest son of Samuel Edgar (1766-1826) and Elizabeth McKee (1771-1839).Rev John Edgar D.D, LL.D (1798-1866)
/ref> He attended the

Royal Belfast Academical Institution The Royal Belfast Academical Institution is an independent grammar school in Belfast, Northern Ireland. With the support of Belfast's leading reformers and democrats, it opened its doors in 1814. Until 1849, when it was superseded by what today is ...

where he excelled as a student, and was ordained a minister in the Presbyterian church in 1820. He became D.D. of Hamilton, USA in 1836, was elected moderator of the Presbyterian Church of Ireland for 1842–3, and obtained LL.D. of New York in 1860. Edgar died aged 68 on 26 August 1866, in Cremore,

Rathgar Rathgar (), is a suburb of Dublin in Ireland. It was originally a village which from 1862 was part of the township of Rathmines and Rathgar; it was absorbed by the growing city and became a suburb in 1930. It lies about three kilometres south of ...

, Dublin, where he had gone to get medical treatment. He was survived by his wife Susanna, and was buried in Balmoral Cemetery, Belfast.

Temperance Movement

Edgar is known as the origin of the

Temperance Movement The temperance movement is a social movement promoting temperance or complete abstinence from consumption of alcoholic beverages. Participants in the movement typically criticize alcohol intoxication or promote teetotalism, and its leaders emph ...

because he poured alcohol out his window in 1829.Peter Fryer (1965) ''Mrs Grundy: Studies in English Prudery'': 141-44. Corgi On 14 August 1829 he wrote a letter in the ''

Belfast Telegraph The ''Belfast Telegraph'' is a daily newspaper published in Belfast, Northern Ireland, by Independent News & Media. Its editor is Eoin Brannigan. Reflecting its unionist tradition, the paper has historically been "favoured by the Protestant po ...

'' advocating

temperance Temperance may refer to: Moderation *Temperance movement, movement to reduce the amount of alcohol consumed *Temperance (virtue), habitual moderation in the indulgence of a natural appetite or passion Culture *Temperance (group), Canadian danc ...

. He formed the Ulster Temperance Movement. In 1834, Edgar told a parliamentary committee inquiring into the causes and consequences of drunkenness in the United Kingdom that there were 550 "dram shops" in Belfast and 1,700 shops selling intoxicants in Dublin as well as numerous illicit distillers "even in the most civilised districts of Ulster". He was also the founder of the Ulster Female Penitentiary in 1839 which was a residential home for prostitutes; and was instrumental in getting the Deaf, Dumb and Blind Institute set up in Belfast. The meeting which led to the establishment of the Presbyterian Orphan Society was held in 1866 in his drawing room.

Home mission and famine relief in Connaught

Edgar was also involved in the relief effort by the presbyterian church in

Connaught Connacht ( ; ga, Connachta or ), is one of the provinces of Ireland, in the west of Ireland. Until the ninth century it consisted of several independent major Gaelic kingdoms (Uí Fiachrach, Uí Briúin, Uí Maine, Conmhaícne, and Delbh ...

during the Irish famine. The church was accused of

proselytizing Proselytism () is the policy of attempting to convert people's religious or political beliefs. Proselytism is illegal in some countries. Some draw distinctions between ''evangelism'' or '' Da‘wah'' and proselytism regarding proselytism as invol ...

History of Protestant Gaelic Speakers
by Gordon McCoy, 2009 during the famine period.''Memoir of John Edgar, D.D., LL.D.''
by

William Dool Killen William Dool Killen (16 April 1806 – 10 January 1902) was a minister of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland and church historian. Life Born at Church Street, Ballymena, County Antrim, on 16 April 1806, he was third of four sons and nine chil ...

, Belfast (1867) In the May Street Presbyterian Church he said, "I hope soon to have an opportunity of directing public attention to spiritual famine in Connaught, but our effort now is to save the perishing body ... Our brother is starving, and, till we have satisfied his hunger, we have no time to inquire whether he is Protestant or Romanist". Edgar was interested in

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

language and culture, and was critical of other Protestant faiths particularly 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 ...

(Anglican) for not preaching in the Irish language.''Presbyterians and the Irish language'' by Roger Blaney, Ulster Historical Foundation, 1996.

Life

Temperance Movement

Home mission and famine relief in Connaught

References

Further reading