Charles Dodgson ( – 21 January 1795) was an English

Anglican cleric The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. ''Ministry'' commonly refers to the office of ordination, ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. Anglican m ...

who served in the

Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland (, ; , ) is a Christian church in Ireland, and an autonomy, autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the Christianity in Ireland, second-largest Christian church on the ...

as the

Bishop of Ossory . The Bishop of Ossory () is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the ancient of Kingdom of Ossory in the Provinces of Ireland, Province of Leinster, Ireland. In the Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but i ...

(1765–1775) then

Bishop of Elphin The Bishop of Elphin (; ) is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the village of Elphin, County Roscommon, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the Catholic Church, Roman Catholic Church it remains a separate title, but ...

(1775–1795). Dodgson was born in

Howden Howden () is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the East Riding of Yorkshire, England. It lies in the Vale of York to the north of the M62 motorway, M62, on the A614 road about south-east of York and north of Goole, ...

, Yorkshire. His date of birth is not recorded; he was baptised on 10 January 1722. His father, Christopher Dodgson (1696–1750), was the curate there. Charles Dodgson was educated at

Westminster School Westminster School is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school in Westminster, London, England, in the precincts of Westminster Abbey. It descends from a charity school founded by Westminster Benedictines before the Norman Conquest, as do ...

and St. John's College, Cambridge. After ordination, he was appointed to the parish of Bintry,

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

in 1746. He moved to the north of England, keeping a school at

Stanwix Stanwix is a district of Carlisle, Cumbria in North West England. The ward population (called Stanwix Urban) had a population taken at the 2011 census of 5,934. It is located on the north side of River Eden, across from Carlisle city centre. ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is an area of North West England which was historically a county. The county was bordered by Northumberland to the north-east, County Durham to the east, Westmorland to the south-east, Lancashire to the south, and the Scottish ...

and becoming Rector of Kirby Wiske in 1755. He was tutor to Lord Algernon Percy, the son of the

Duke of Northumberland Duke of Northumberland is a noble title that has been created three times in English and British history, twice in the Peerage of England and once in the Peerage of Great Britain. The current holder of this title is Ralph Percy, 12th Duke of N ...

; in 1762, the Duke gave him the parish of Elsdon, Northumberland. Dodgson was elected as a fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

in 1762. Rapidly promoted, he was nominated to the bishopric of Ossory on 22 June and

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

at St. Werburgh's Church, Dublin on 11 August 1765 by William Carmichael,

Archbishop of Dublin The Archbishop of Dublin () is an Episcopal polity, archiepiscopal title which takes its name from Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Since the Reformation in Ireland, Reformation, there have been parallel apostolic successions to the title: ...

. Ten years later, he was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the bishopric of Elphin by

letters patent Letters patent (plurale tantum, plural form for singular and plural) are a type of legal instrument in the form of a published written order issued by a monarch, President (government title), president or other head of state, generally granti ...

on 12 April 1775., ''The Province of Connaught'', p. 129., ''Handbook of British Chronology'', p. 393. King

George III George III (George William Frederick; 4 June 173829 January 1820) was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland, Ireland from 25 October 1760 until his death in 1820. The Acts of Union 1800 unified Kingdom of Great Britain, Great Britain and ...

congratulated him on this promotion, saying that he ought indeed to be thankful to have got away from a palace where the stabling was so bad., ''The Life and Letters of Lewis Carroll'', p. 5.

Marriage and children

In 1768, he married Mary Frances Smyth (1749–1796). Among their children were Captain Charles Dodgson (1769?–1803), Elizabeth Anne Dodgson (1770–1836) and 2nd Lieut. Percy Currer Dodgson RN (1782–1807). Captain Dodgson was the father of Charles Dodgson (

Archdeacon of Richmond The Archdeacon of Richmond and Craven is an archdeacon, archdiaconal post in the Church of England. It was created in about 1088 within the See of York and was moved in 1541 to the Bishopric of Chester, See of Chester, in 1836 to the Diocese of ...

) and the grandfather of

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet, mathematician, photographer and reluctant Anglicanism, Anglican deacon. His most notable works are ''Alice ...

. Elizabeth Dodgson married Major Charles Lutwidge; among their children was Frances, mother of Lewis Carroll. He died in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

on 21 January 1795 and was buried at St. Bride's Church, Dublin.

Notes

References

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Dodgson, Charles (bishop) 1720s births 1795 deaths People from Howden Alumni of St John's College, Cambridge Anglican bishops of Elphin Anglican bishops of Ossory 18th-century Anglican bishops in Ireland Fellows of the Royal Society People educated at Westminster School, London Clergy from Yorkshire Dodgson family