Richard Aslatt Pearce (9 January 185521 July 1928) was the first
deaf
Deafness has varying definitions in cultural and medical contexts. In medical contexts, the meaning of deafness is hearing loss that precludes a person from understanding spoken language, an Audiology, audiological condition. In this context it ...
person to be ordained as an
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.
He was educated via the
sign language
Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with non-manual markers. Sign l ...
of his era, he became
Chaplain
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a hosp ...
to the
Deaf and Dumb
Deaf-mute is a term which was used historically to identify a person who was either deaf and used sign language or both deaf and could not speak. The term continues to be used to refer to deaf people who cannot speak an oral language or have som ...
, and he fulfilled this duty in the
Southampton
Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
area for the rest of his life. In 1885 he was introduced to
Queen Victoria
Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, who then ordered the ''Royal Commission on the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb and Others of the United Kingdom'', 1889.
Background
Family
Richard Aslatt Pearce was the grandson of Robert Pearce (born 1785) and Sarah Seward (born ). Their son, and the father of Richard Aslatt, was Richard Seward Pearce (1820–1893), a solicitor and town clerk of Southampton, and Frances Aslatt (1836–1899). Richard and Frances were married in 1854 at South Stoneham. He was born in
Portswood
Portswood is a suburb and Electoral Ward of Southampton, England. The suburb lies to the north-north-east of the city centre and is bounded by (clockwise from west) Freemantle, Highfield, Swaythling, St. Denys and Bevois Valley.
Portswood Wa ...
on 9 January 1855,
[United Kingdom Census 1911: Pearce, Christchurch Lodge, Winchester, Hampshire][Rootsweb: Richard Aslatt Pearce]
/ref> one of four siblings of which three were deaf. Two of his siblings were artist Walter Seward (1862–1941) and Fanny (1863–1892), all three described as "deaf and dumb from birth" in the 1881 Census. His single hearing sibling was solicitor Arthur William Pearce (1858–1928).
There are two indications that Pearce did not speak. One is that in his own handwriting on the 1911 Census form he differentiated himself, as "deaf and dumb", from his wife whom he described as "deaf." The second is the ''Hampshire Advertiser'' description of his sermon at Golden Common in 1887, as "silent eloquence."
Education
Pearce's father paid £50 () per year from 1860 to 1872, for him to attend the Brighton Institution for Deaf and Dumb Children at 127–132 Eastern Road, Kemptown, Brighton
Kemptown is a small community running along the King's Cliff to Black Rock in the east of Brighton, East Sussex, England.
History
The area takes its name from Thomas Read Kemp's Kemp Town residential estate of the early 19th Century, but the ...
, where he received private tuition using only the manual system. His headmaster, who gave him personal tuition via the manual and sign system of that era, was William Sleight.[''Deaf and Dumb Times'', 1889, 1, pp. 24–25] The 1861 Census shows him at six years old, already at the Institution, when it had 82 inmates and two teachers besides the headmaster.[United Kingdom Census 1861: RG9/591/30 p3, Brighton Institution for Deaf and Deum Children, Eastern Road, Brighton] In 1871 when Pearce was 16 years old, the Institution had 93 inmates, plus several former female inmates employed as servants and as an assistant teacher. Besides the headmaster who taught, the only other teachers besides the deaf former pupil, were an assistant master and a pupil teacher; however, all the inmates were described as "scholars". In that year, 40 of the inmates were of unknown origin, and 31 were of vague origin, where only the county or country were known.
Marriage
Pearce met his wife Frances Mary Monck (1845 or 1846 – 1930) at St Saviour's, Oxford Street, in 1887, and they married on 26 April 1888. She was born in Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
, the daughter of Charles Monck, 4th Viscount Monck
Charles Stanley Monck, 4th Viscount Monck (10 October 1819 – 29 November 1894) was an Irish politician who served as the last governor-general of the Province of Canada and the first Governor General of Canada after Canadian Confederation.
...
, who until 1869 had been Governor General of Canada
The governor general of Canada (french: gouverneure générale du Canada) is the federal viceregal representative of the . The is head of state of Canada and the 14 other Commonwealth realms, but resides in oldest and most populous realm, t ...
. Her 1911 Census record, completed in her husband's handwriting, says that she was deaf "from illness". Her father did not want them to marry, believing that because they were both deaf, they would be poor, but they moved to Southampton where Pearce was to remain in employment, serving the deaf community for the rest of his life.
Pearce and his wife had no children. It is not known whether Pearce's childlessness had any connection with recommendations of castration of the congenitally deaf by early 19th century eugenicists
Eugenics ( ; ) is a fringe set of beliefs and practices that aim to improve the genetic quality of a human population. Historically, eugenicists have attempted to alter human gene pools by excluding people and groups judged to be inferior or ...
who held those views which were later developed by Francis Galton
Sir Francis Galton, FRS FRAI (; 16 February 1822 – 17 January 1911), was an English Victorian era polymath: a statistician, sociologist, psychologist, anthropologist, tropical explorer, geographer, inventor, meteorologist, proto- ...
. In 1901 he and his wife were living at 2 Christ Church Road, Winchester, with two servants. The 1911 Census
The United Kingdom Census 1911 of 2 April 1911 was the 12th nationwide census conducted in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. The total population of the United Kingdom was approximately 45,221,000, with 36,070,000 recorded in England ...
finds them living at Christ Church Lodge, Winchester, where he describes himself as "chaplain to the deaf and dumb in the Diocese of Winchester." It is not known why the same record, completed in R.A. Pearce's own hand, states that he and Frances were deaf "from illness," when according to his 1881 Census record, his father informed the enumerator that he was "deaf and dumb from birth." Similarly, the 1861 and 1871 Census, in which the enumerator was informed by the Brighton Institution, state that the inmate Pearce was "deaf and dumb from birth."[United Kingdom Census 1871: RG10/1073/ p52, Brighton Institution for the Deaf and Dumb] However, by 1911 a congenital condition such as profound deafness could potentially have made him a target for eugenics. On 21 July 1928 he died in Winchester at his home, two years before the death on 30 October 1930 of his wife Frances.
Work
Pearce left the Institution in 1872 to work in his father's office as a secretary, but in his free time he sought out other deaf people, assisted and educated them, and organised groups for Sunday worship. His group grew in size, so that his time was needed for more mission work with the deaf in Hampshire. By 1881 he was still living with his parents and siblings, describing himself as "lay reader to deaf and dumb,"[United Kingdom Census 1881: RG11/1221/98 p23, Norham Lodge, 16 Winchester Road, Millbrook Parish, Shirley, South Stoneham, St James, Hampshire] He was ordained deacon on Sunday 21 May 1885 by the Bishop of Winchester
The Bishop of Winchester is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Winchester in the Church of England. The bishop's seat (''cathedra'') is at Winchester Cathedral in Hampshire. The Bishop of Winchester has always held ''ex officio'' (except dur ...
, after being mentored via sign language by Reverend Charles Mansfield Owen who was at that time vicar of St George's Church, Edgbaston and was later to become Dean of Ripon
The Dean of Ripon is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Leeds. The dean is the head of the chapter at Ripon Cathedral – his predecessors were deans of the same church when it was previously the cathedral of the Diocese of Ripo ...
. Thus Pearce became, "the first deaf ... clergyman to be ordained in the Church of England." In the same year he became Chaplain to the Deaf and Dumb, employed by the Winchester Diocesan Mission to the Deaf and Dumb, which itself had been established by the efforts of Owen. This organisation founded the Mission Church in Oak Road, Southampton (now demolished), for the continuation of their work in 1891. It was completed in 1895 with the financial assistance of Sir Arthur Henderson Fairbairn (1852–1915) who was deaf, and other supporters. ''The Portsmouth Evening News'' said this:
Because he was the first deaf person to be ordained as an Anglican clergyman, Pearce was invited to meet Queen Victoria who "knew deaf people on the Isle of Wight
The Isle of Wight ( ) is a county in the English Channel, off the coast of Hampshire, from which it is separated by the Solent. It is the largest and second-most populous island of England. Referred to as 'The Island' by residents, the Isle of ...
": After meeting Pearce, the Queen requested a ''Royal Commission on the Blind, the Deaf and Dumb and Others of the United Kingdom'', which completed its report in 1889. It included the comment: "The missionary under the bishop of the diocese f Winchester/nowiki> (the Rev. R.A. Pearce, who is the only ordained deaf and dumb clergyman in the Church of England) devotes the whole of his time to the work, visiting the deaf and dumb at their homes, or at places of business and workshops." In 1886 Pearce also visited the Institute for the Deaf and Dumb at Derby
Derby ( ) is a city and unitary authority area in Derbyshire, England. It lies on the banks of the River Derwent in the south of Derbyshire, which is in the East Midlands Region. It was traditionally the county town of Derbyshire. Derby gai ...
.
In November 1887, Pearce preached a sermon at St Saviour's in London. "It was a grand service, and was most highly appreciated." On 20 November 1887, he took a communion service and preached a sermon for deaf and hearing people at Holy Trinity, Golden Common, near Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
, Hampshire. "The deepest attention was paid by the congregations throughout the whole of the services, who perfectly understood them, and expressed hope that the sermon would be long remembered. The parishioners of Golden Common were evidently deeply impressed by the reverential manner and silent eloquence of the preacher." On 26 April 1888 he became Reverend of Christ Church Lodge at Winchester.[''Crockford's Clerical Directory'', 1908, Oxford] In Brighton in 1912, Pearce served as interpreter at the funeral of William Sleight, who had provided his school education. He retired in 1924, having served in the diocese for 43 years.[''The Frat'', Nov. 1945, p. 3]
Historical context
To put Pearce into the context of his time, although he was the first deaf Anglican preacher whose service was formally ratified by ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
and benefice
A benefice () or living is a reward received in exchange for services rendered and as a retainer for future services. The Roman Empire used the Latin term as a benefit to an individual from the Empire for services rendered. Its use was adopted by ...
, he was not the first or only person to preach to the deaf by sign language in England. For example, in 1846, before Pearce was born, the ''Leeds Intelligencer'' cites two instances which drew praise in Yorkshire:
See also
* Charles Baker (instructor)
Charles Baker (1803–1874), was an English instructor of the deaf notable for writing some of the earliest school text books suited to deaf children.
Biography
Baker was the second son of Thomas Baker, of Birmingham, and was born 31 July 1803. ...
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Richard Aslatt
1855 births
1928 deaths
19th-century Anglican deacons
English deaf people
Deaf religious workers
Educators of the deaf
20th-century Anglican deacons
Clergy from Southampton
19th-century Church of England clergy
20th-century Church of England clergy