Abraham Hume (1814–1884) was a Scots-Irish Anglican priest in

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, known as a social researcher, supporter of learned societies, and antiquary,

Life

The son of Thomas F. Hume, of Scottish descent, he was born at

Hillsborough, County Down Royal Hillsborough (Irish: ''Cromghlinn'', meaning 'Crooked Glen'Patrick McKay, ''A Dictionary of Ulster Place-Names'', p. 81. The Institute of Irish Studies, The Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, 1999.), more commonly known simply as ...

, on 9 February 1814. He was educated at the

Belfast Royal Academy The Belfast Royal Academy (also known as ) is the oldest school in the city of Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is a co-educational, non-denominational voluntary grammar school in north Belfast. The Academy is one of 8 schools in Northern Ireland ...

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

, and

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

. On leaving

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Hume was for some time a mathematics and English teacher, first in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

, and then at the

Liverpool Institute The Liverpool Institute High School for Boys was an all-boys grammar school in the English port city of Liverpool. The school had its origins in 1825 but occupied different premises while the money was found to build a dedicated building on M ...

and Liverpool Collegiate Institution. In 1843, he graduated

B.A. A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree ...

at Dublin, and received the honorary degree of

LL.D. A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. In the same year he was ordained deacon by the

Bishop of Chester The Bishop of Chester is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Chester in the Province of York. The diocese extends across most of the historic county boundaries of Cheshire, including the Wirral Peninsula and has its see in the ...

, and after serving as curate for four years without stipend at St. Augustine's,

, was appointed in 1847 vicar of the new parish of

Vauxhall Vauxhall ( , ) is an area of South London, within the London Borough of Lambeth. Named after a medieval manor called Fox Hall, it became well known for the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. From the Victorian period until the mid-20th century, Va ...

there. In 1845, he launched a severe attack on ''

Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation ''Vestiges of the Natural History of Creation'' is an 1844 work of speculative natural history and philosophy by Robert Chambers. Published anonymously in England, it brought together various ideas of stellar evolution with the progressive tra ...

''. Hume took part in most of the public, scientific, educational, and ecclesiastical events in Liverpool. In 1848, with Joseph Mayer and

Henry Clark Pidgeon Henry Clark Pidgeon (1807–1880) was an English painter in water-colours and antiquary. Life Pigeon practised as an artist and teacher of drawing in London. In 1847 he moved to Liverpool, where he was professor of the school of drawing at ...

, he established the

Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire The Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire is a historical society and registered charity founded for the purpose of "collecting, preserving, arranging and publishing such Historical Documents, Antiquities…Specimens of Ancient and Medieva ...

, of which he was a mainstay for many years. He began close social and statistical inquiries in some of the Liverpool parishes. During 1857 and 1858, he sent to ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' summaries of his previous year's work in his parish. In 1858 and 1859, he gave evidence before select committees of the House of Lords, first on divine worship in populous places, and secondly on

church rates The church rate was a tax formerly levied in each parish in England and Ireland for the benefit of the parish church. The rates were used to meet the costs of carrying on divine service, repairing the fabric of the church and paying the salaries of ...

. In 1867, Hume was sent on a tour by the South American Missionary Society, and explored the west coast, especially

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

and

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

. On the visit of the Church Congress to Liverpool in 1869, he acted as secretary and edited the report. He was also secretary to the

British Association The British Science Association (BSA) is a charity and learned society founded in 1831 to aid in the promotion and development of science. Until 2009 it was known as the British Association for the Advancement of Science (BA). The current Chief ...

at Liverpool in 1870. He was vice-chairman of the Liverpool school board 1870–6, and secretary of the Liverpool bishopric committee 1873–80. He was an activist for the formation of the

Anglican Diocese of Liverpool The diocese of Liverpool is a diocese of the Church of England in North West England. The diocese covers Merseyside north of the River Mersey, south-west Lancashire, western Greater Manchester, and part of northern Cheshire. Liverpool Cathedral ...

, and on its creation in 1880 designed the episcopal seal. He was a fellow of the

Society of Antiquaries of London The Society of Antiquaries of London (SAL) is a learned society of historians and archaeologists in the United Kingdom. It was founded in 1707, received its royal charter in 1751 and is a Charitable organization, registered charity. It is based ...

, of the Royal Society of Northern Antiquaries at Copenhagen, and other similar associations; and was a fellow of the

Royal Statistical Society The Royal Statistical Society (RSS) is an established statistical society. It has three main roles: a British learned society for statistics, a professional body for statisticians and a charity which promotes statistics for the public good. ...

.W. S. F. Pickering, ''Abraham Hume (1814–1884). A Forgotten Pioneer in Religious Sociology'', Archives de sociologie des religions 17e Année, No. 33 (Jan. – Jun., 1972), pp. 33–48, at p. 35. Published by: EHESS. Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/30118068 Hume died unmarried on 21 November 1884, and was buried at Anfield cemetery, Liverpool.

Works

Hume wrote more than a hundred books and pamphlets. They included: * ''The Learned Societies and Printing Clubs of the United Kingdom'', London, 1847, an enlarged edition in 1853. * ''Sir Hugh of Lincoln'', London, 1849. * ''Remarks on Certain Implements of the Stone Period'', 1851. * ''Two essays on 'Spinning and Weaving'', 1857. * ''Condition of Liverpool, Religious and Social'', Liverpool, 1858. * ''Miscellaneous Essays contributed to the "Ulster Journal of Archæology"'', 1860. * ''Rabbin's Olminick'' (Belfast dialect), 1861–3. * ''Ancient Meols, or some Account of the Antiquities found on the Seacoast of Cheshire'', London, 1863. * ''Examination of the Changes in the Seacoast of Lancashire and Cheshire'', 1866. * ''Facts and Suggestions connected with Primary Education'', Liverpool, 1870. * ''Origin and Characteristics of the People in the Counties of Down and Antrim'', Belfast, 1874. * ''Remarks on the Irish Dialect of the English Language'', 1878. * ''Some Scottish Grievances'', 1881. * ''Detailed Account of how Liverpool became a Diocese'', London, 1881.

Notes

;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Hume, Abraham 1814 births 1884 deaths 19th-century Irish Anglican priests Irish antiquarians Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of London Irish people of Scottish descent Historic Society of Lancashire and Cheshire People from Hillsborough, County Down Christian clergy from County Down