Charles Jordan (1838 – 5 October 1912) was an Irish-born New Zealand politician and
Anglican clergyman
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. ''Ministry'' commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the ''threefold order'' of bishops, priests and deacons. Anglican ministry incl ...
. He was
mayor of Tauranga
The mayor of Tauranga is the head of local government in Tauranga, New Zealand's fifth-largest city. The mayor presides over the Tauranga City Council. The mayor is directly elected using the single transferable vote method. The current mayor i ...
five times (1885–1886, 1900–1905, 1907–1908, 1909–1910 and 1911–1912).
Biography
Early life and Career
Rev Canon Charles Jordan was born in
Ventry
Ventry (), officially ''Ceann Trá'', is a Gaeltacht village in County Kerry, Ireland, on the Dingle Peninsula, 7 kilometres west of Dingle. Due to its long sandy beach, Ventry is a tourist destination.
History
Six kilometres west of Ventry ar ...
, near
Dingle
Dingle ( or ''Daingean Uí Chúis'', meaning "fort of Ó Cúis") is a town in County Kerry in the south-west of Ireland. The only town on the Dingle Peninsula (known in Irish as ''Corca Dhuibhne''), it sits on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coa ...
,
County Kerry
County Kerry () is a Counties of Ireland, county on the southwest coast of Republic of Ireland, Ireland, within the Provinces of Ireland, province of Munster and the Southern Region, Ireland, Southern Region. It is bordered by two other countie ...
,
Ireland
Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...
. Charles Jordan was the son of James Jordan and Eliza Jordan (nee O'Connor) and husband of Eleanor Anne Jordan (nee Armstrong), and with her he became the father of James Jordan, Mary Ann Pittar, Joseph Armstrong Jordan, Marguerite Martina Clemson, Eleanor Grace Norris and William Jordan. He was educated at
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 ...
and took his degree of
Bachelor of Arts
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 deg ...
in 1866.
He was ordained in
County Galway
County Galway ( ; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is in the Northern and Western Region, taking up the south of the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht. The county population was 276,451 at the 20 ...
on 14 July 1867 in
St. Mary's Cathedral,
Tuam
Tuam (; , meaning 'mound' or 'burial-place') is a town in Ireland and the second-largest settlement in County Galway. It is west of the midland Region, Ireland, midlands of Ireland, about north of Galway city. The town is in a civil parishe ...
, County Galway by Rev. Dr. Bernard for the curacy of Bangor, in the parish of Kilcomon, Erris. Rev. Jordan continued in Church work in Ireland till 1872, and left on September 11th of that year for Tauranga, being appointed thereto by the commissaries of the former Bishop of Waiapu, Rev. Dr. William Williams. He arrived from Ireland at the end of 1872 to be the first
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 p ...
of Holy Trinity Church, a position he kept for 39 years.
Death
Up until roughly six weeks ago, Rev. Canon Jordan seemed to be in his typical state of health. However, on the eleventh ultimo, he became ill after getting a chill while returning from the Bay of Plenty Hospital and Charitable Aid Board's most recent meeting in
Whakatāne
Whakatāne ( , ) is a town located in the Bay of Plenty Region, Bay of Plenty Region in the North Island of New Zealand, east of Tauranga and northeast of Rotorua. The town is situated at the mouth of the Whakatāne River. The Whakatāne Dis ...
. His condition deteriorated to the point where a number of his relatives, who live across the Dominion, were called to his bedside.
According to his obituary, Jordan had "an honorable record of excellent service, and it may be said of him that he sacrificed his personal interests for the good of the people." He passed away on October 5, 1912.
References
External links
Mayors of Tauranga, 1882–Tauranga City Council
History of Tauranga and Western Bay of Plenty
Canon Charles Jordan (1838–1912) – Genealogy
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Charles
1838 births
1912 deaths
Mayors of Tauranga
New Zealand people of Irish descent